The country’s first ever biojet fuel-run flight — operated by SpiceJet — landed here on Monday from Dehradun.

Union Ministers Suresh Prabhu, Jayant Sinha, Nitin Gadkari, Harsh Vardhan and Dharmendra Pradhan, along with officials from regulatory agencies, including the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), were on board this flight.

A SpiceJet statement said the company used its Bombardier Q400 aircraft for the flight and intends to undertake operations using a blend of 75 per cent aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and 25 per cent biojet fuel.

The biojet fuel, made of jatropha crop, was developed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum. It can potentially reduce the carbon footprint by 15 per cent, said the statement. Not only does it reduce carbon emissions but also enhances fuel efficiency, it added.

Speaking at the event, SpiceJet’s Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said: “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 per cent on every flight and bring down fares.”

Commercial operations

Following today’s successful run, the cost, infrastructure, availability and scalability of biojet fuel for commercial operations are being worked out.

SpiceJet’s move drew appreciation from across the board. In an emailed statement, the US Grains Council (USGC), a global biofuel-promoting organisation, said India is now ready to usher in a new era of enhanced biofuel usage.

“With India buckling up to strengthen its alternative energy infrastructure, the country is ready with its first flight jacked up with biojet fuel in its tanks for a maiden trip from Dehradun to Delhi. While countries like the US and Australia already have a long fleet of biofuel-run flights circling their air-space, India has achieved a significant breakthrough with this pilot project ready to take off,” the USGC statement said.

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