The boss of Heathrow has called for collaborative effort between government and industry to ‘scale up’ sustainable aviation fuel production, after last month’s landmark flight.
This call from Europe’s busiest airport comes after it was involved in last month’s milestone SAF powered transatlantic flight, the first of its kind.
The flight, which was operated by Virgin Atlantic, took off from Heathrow to New York’s JFK’s airport with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Last month, the first transatlantic flight by an airliner powered by SAF successfully took off from Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport
Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson, Transport Secretary Mark Harper and Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss were among the passengers on the flight.
The rallying cry for SAF production came as the airport posted November traffic growth of 10.2 per cent to around 6.1 million, bringing 2023 passenger numbers to 72.5 million, up 30.2 per cent year-on-year.
Heathrow said traffic was boosted during the month by travelers celebrating holidays such as Thanksgiving and Diwali.
Chief executive Thomas Woldbye said: ‘We need to protect these benefits of aviation in a world without carbon, which the history making 100 per cent SAF transatlantic flight proved is possible.
‘Now we need collaboration between industry and government who both have critical deliveries, to scale up SAF production to make 100 per cent SAF flights an everyday reality.’
Asia Pacific saw the strongest growth, up 19.1 per cent for the month, followed by 11.6 per cent growth in the Middle East.
The airport also reported that traffic peaked ahead of Thanksgiving with over 50,000 passengers flying across the Atlantic on the Friday before the US holiday.
Departures to India were also popular as many passengers jetted off to celebrate Diwali.
Woldbye added: ‘For so many, holidays and cultural festivities are all about spending quality time with friends and family.
‘Last month saw passengers travelling to celebrate Thanksgiving and Diwali with their loved ones, and we are making final preparations for the Christmas getaway.’
Saudi Arabia could soon become the majority owner of Heathrow Airport, according to reports.
The speculation comes after the country’s sovereign wealth fund together with French private equity firm Ardian recently agreed a deal to buy a 25 per cent stake in the airport for £2.4billion from Ferrovial.
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) is taking 10 per cent and Ardian 15 per cent and the stakes will be held separately, though the PIF is also an investor in Ardian, the Sunday Times reported.
The report also claimed that while the Chinese, Qatari and Singapore funds who hold major stakes may choose to hold on, the other investors would sell, leaving the PIF and Ardian with nearly 60 per cent control of Heathrow.
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