KLM flies first passenger flight with biofuel

NRC International, 24 November 2009 09:02

By AP, AFP

An airliner using a 50 percent biofuel mix in one engine has successfully completed a demonstration flight in the Netherlands.

Air France-KLM says it was the first flight using biofuel to carry passengers. Forty people flew on the 90-minute trip Monday, including the Dutch economic affairs minister.

The plane, a Boeing 747, had a 50-50 mix of biofuel and regular jet fuel in one of its four engines. The biofuel was manufactured from the camelina plant, sourced from a biotechnology company based in Seattle in the United States. A spokesperson said the footprint of transporting the fuel from the United States was compensated.

"This is technically feasible. We have demonstrated that it is possible," KLM chief executive officer Peter Hartman said after the flight, which took off and landed at Schiphol airport near Amsterdam. "Government, industry and society at large must now join forces to ensure that we quickly gain access to a continuous supply of biofuel."

The test flight was also the first of any kind in Europe powered partly by sustainable biofuel, according to KLM. Virgin, Air New Zealand, Air Japan and Continental Airlines have previously completed similar demonstration flights with a biofuel mix of jatropha or algae.

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