Biofuel flight 'a publicity stunt'

The Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 flew from London Heathrow to Amsterdam, with one of the four main tanks carrying 80% standard jet fuel and a 20% mix of coconut and babassu oil.

Virgin Atlantic President Sir Richard Branson said the passenger-less test flight was a "historic" step towards using biofuels on commercial flights, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions.

But he said fully commercial biofuel flights, still a few years away, were likely to use feedstocks such as algae rather than the mix used on the test run.

The fuel was developed in partnership with Boeing, engine maker General Electric, and Imperium Renewables.

Environmental groups say biofuel crops are raising food costs in developing countries, damaging the environment and displacing indigenous local populations.

And they pointed to Sir Richard's calls for a third runway as proof of his lack of environmental credibility.

The Virgin boss said his fuel was "completely environmentally and socially sustainable", with the coconut oil sourced in the Philippines, one of the world's top three producers, and the babassu oil taken mostly from a wild palm found in Brazil.

Speaking at the Virgin hangar, with the vast aircraft behind him, Sir Richard said: "Today marks a biofuel breakthrough for the whole airline industry. Virgin Atlantic, and its partners, are proving that you can find an alternative to traditional jet fuel and fly a plane on new technology, such as sustainable biofuel."

Greenpeace chief scientist, Dr Doug Parr, said: "This is a company hell-bent on unrestrained airport expansion, starting with a third runway at Heathrow which would almost double the number of flights from one of the world's biggest airports. Biofuels can often cause more damage to the environment than fossil fuels, and Virgin is using this flight to divert attention from an irresponsible, business as usual attitude to climate change."