For a safer planet: Air Canada successfully flies its first biofuel plane

by Seyi Lawal

 Air Canada has successfully completed its first-ever flight using biofuels.

Yesterday the ecofriendly plane headed from Toronto to Mexico City, in an effort to showcase the aviation industry’s global commitment to greener transportation.

Air Canada’s Airbus 319 used recycled cooking oil and jet fuel for the journey, which the aircraft maker says could cut carbon dioxide emissions by more than 40 percent, AFP reports.

“Today’s flight with Air Canada proves that the aviation industry is in a strong position to reduce emissions,” said Fabrice Bregier, president and CEO of Airbus.

“To make this a day-to-day commercial reality, it now requires political will to foster incentives to scale up the use of sustainable biofuels and accelerate modernization of the air traffic management system,” Bregier said. “We need a clear endorsement by governments and all aviation stakeholders to venture beyond today’s limitations.”

 The flight is part of an environmental initiative by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to coincide with Rio+20, a United Nations sustainable development conference in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

The Air Canada flight was part of a series of flights taking ICAO head Raymond Benjamin to the Rio+20 summit that sought to demonstrate cleaner, more environmentally-friendly ways of traveling.

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