KLM circles the Netherlands during Biofuel test flight

KLM circled the Netherlands for an hour on Monday, in what it has called the world's "first passenger flight on biofuel."

"This is technically feasible. We have demonstrated that it is possible," KLM chief executive officer Peter Hartman said after the flight, which took off and landed at Schiphol airport near Amsterdam."Government, industry and society at large must now join forces to ensure that we quickly gain access to a continuous supply of biofuel."

About 40 people were on board the flight, including Hartman, Economic Affairs Minister Maria van der Hoeven, director of nature group WWF in the Netherlands, Johan van de Gronden, and select media.
KLM spokeswoman Monique Matze told AFP that one of the aircraft's four engines was powered by a mix of 50 percent sustainable kerosene and 50 percent normal fuel.

The biofuel was manufactured from the camelina plant, sourced from a Seattle-based biotechnology company.

According to KLM, Monday's test flight was also the first of any kind in Europe powered partly by sustainable biofuel.

"Of course, we compensated the footprint of transporting the fuel from the United States to here," added Matze, citing ongoing projects to reduce CO2 emissions.

KLM said its quest for biokerosene would not be made at the detriment of forests, food and water sources.

Matze said the company "dare not name any targets" for switching to biofuel for its commercial flights, saying "the difficulty now is the availability of biofuels."

She said the KLM test flight was "the first step towards ensuring clean and sustainable air transport."



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