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GURUGRAM, August 27, 2018: In its endeavour to go green, SpiceJet,
India’s most innovative airline, today successfully conducted India’s first-ever BioJet
Fuel powered flight. The airline successfully undertook the flight today on the
Dehradun-Delhi route. SpiceJet used its Bombardier Q400 aircraft for this flight.
At Dehradun, the SpiceJet fight was flagged off by Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat – Hon’ble
Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. The flight successfully landed in Delhi in the august
presence of Shri Nitin Jairam Gadkari – Hon’ble Minister of Road Transport & Highways,
Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation; Shri Suresh
Prabhu – Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and the Industry, Civil Aviation; Shri Dharmendra
Pradhan - Hon’ble Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development &
Entrepreneurship; Shri Dr. Harsh Vardhan - Hon’ble Union Minister for Science &
technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change; Shri Jayant Sinha
- Hon’ble Minister of State for Civil Aviation; Shri Ajay Singh - Chairman & Managing
Director, SpiceJet and senior government and aviation officials.
SpiceJet is the only airline in India to explore aerial operations powered by BioJet
fuel and intends to undertake operations using a blend of 75% of aviation turbine fuel
(ATF) and 25% of BioJet fuel, which has the potential of reducing carbon footprint by
15%.
Made from Jatropha crop, the fuel has been developed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of
Petroleum (IIP), one of the constituent laboratories of the Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research based in Dehradun. The BioJet fuel has been recognised by American
Standard Testing Method (ASTM) and meets the specification standards of Pratt & Whitney
and Bombardier for commercial application in aircraft.
“SpiceJet is delighted to operate the first BioJet fuel flight in India. This fuel is
low cost and helps in significantly reducing carbon emissions. It has the potential to
reduce our dependence on traditional Aviation Fuel by up to 50% on every flight and
bring down fares. India is the fastest growing aviation market in the world today and
it is our responsibility to grow using clean and sustainable technologies,” said Ajay
Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet.
SpiceJet has always been in the forefront in practicing initiatives that can lead to
more Green miles. These include plantations drives, solar power projects, distribution
of seed cards, Clean Ganga Fund, installing roof top solar panels in Majuli to provide
a complete village with clean power and many more.
Last year, SpiceJet placed an order for 205 Boeing 737 Max aircraft. The fuel-efficient
Max planes are expected to reduce fuel consumption by about 15%. The advanced
technology winglet in these aircraft helps reduce the drag and further enhances fuel
efficiency. Besides, the new Max fleet will leave 40% lesser noise footprint. Complete
induction of Max fleet with lightweight titanium seats will bring in savings of 22,000
tonnes of fuel each year. With these initiatives SpiceJet will be much ahead of IATA
target of 2020 and 2025.
The airline has also initiated new food packaging which will go a long way in reducing
the dependence on plastic and therefore will promote a culture of recycling. Strategic
use of trays will be used in place of the current packaging. These trays are reusable
and also recyclable, which makes them extremely environment friendly.
According to IATA, aviation industry contributes to 2% of the total greenhouse gas
emissions in the world which will rise as the aviation industry is expanding and has
set ambitious targets to mitigate carbon emissions from air transport - an average
improvement in fuel efficiency of 1.5% per year from 2009 to 2020, a cap on net
aviation carbon emissions from 2020 (carbon-neutral growth) and a reduction in net
aviation carbon emissions of 50% by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. IATA has also set
out a target for one billion passengers to fly on aircraft using a mix of clean energy
and fossil fuels by 2025.
The advantage of using BioJet fuel as compared to ATF is that it reduces carbon
emissions and enhances fuel efficiency.
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