Anti Gatwick expansion campaigners voice concerns over ‘green’ aircraft fuel

Communities Against Gatwick Noise and Emissions - CAGNE - say there appears ‘to be little provision for such fuels to be stored within Gatwick’s boundary.’

And, they maintain, the type of green fuel being used still causes pollution.

They spoke out after an easyJet flight took off on Tuesday on the first ever flight from Gatwick to use sustainable aviation fuel.

A CAGNE spokesperson said: “This sustainable fuel used by easyJet, just 30 per cent of the total fuel used for the flight, still releases harmful emissions into the atmosphere.”

But a Gatwick Airport spokesperson said that sustainable aviation fuel - SAF - does not need to be stored separately at the airport.

“SAF is a ‘drop-in’ fuel, ie blended and fully certified upstream of airports for use in existing aircraft and infrastructure, including the pipelines and fuel storage facilities already at Gatwick.

“It is therefore an important solution helping the aviation industry toward its goal of reaching net zero emissions.

“We recognise that introducing a 30 per cent blend of SAF on a select number of easyJet flights to Glasgow is just a small start, however with smart Government policy to underpin investment in cost competitive UK SAF production, many more flights could be using UK produced SAF by the mid-2020s.

“A maximum blend of 50 per cent is currently certified for use by airlines, however this proportion is likely to increase over time as aircraft engine manufacturers are already testing 100 per cent SAF use.”