Airline passenger news and views

Virgin Atlantic has announced the development of a cleaner aviation fuel with just half the carbon footprint of the traditionally used kerosene.

Owner Richard Branson joined Virgin Atlantic at London 's Battersea Power Station to deliver the news.

He also commented on his blog: "Today I am in London to announce one of the most exciting developments of our lifetime and a major breakthrough in the war on carbon. This could turn aviation from a dirty industry to one of the cleanest."

Virgin's environmental initiative is similar to Lufthansa's. The German airline has been running regular commercial flights using a mix of biofuel and kerosene in a six month trial starting last August.

However, where Lufthansa's combustible comes from biofuel crops - a practise heavily criticised by some environmentalist groups - Virgin's will be obtained from recycled waste.

In partnership with LanzaTech, Virgin have developed an aviation fuel technology that will see waste gases from industrial steel production being captured, fermented and chemically converted for use as a jet fuel. The revolutionary fuel production process recycles waste gases that would otherwise be burnt into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

Virgin Atlantic expects having flights with the new fuel on its routes from Shanghai and Delhi to London Heathrow within three years.

With an initial trial currently undergoing in New Zealand, Virgin is confident in having the first commercial operation in China by 2014.

If the implementation turns successful, the scheme will be extended to the UK and the rest of the world.

LanzaTech believes that the process used to obtain the fuel can apply to 65 % of the world's steel mills, allowing the fuel to be rolled out for worldwide commercial use. In theory, this process can also apply to metals processing and chemical industries, growing its potential considerably further.

Low-carbon aviation fuel is a powerful concept that follows a simple idea. As Branson puts it: "Taking much of the s**t from up the chimney stacks and turning it into aviation fuel."

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