The Spanish airline Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA today flew the country’s first commercial flight, on an Airbus A320 from Madrid to Barcelona using a blend of fuel made from the inedible camelina plant.

The flight consumed 2,600kg of camelina-derived bio-jet and conventional Jet A-1
fuel, which led to a CO2 saving of 1,500kg.

Honeywell-UOP manufactured the synthesised paraffin bio-kerosene, while Repsol evaluated and certified it at its Technology Centre.

'The fight against climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing our sector, and biofuels are essential in reducing our dependency on oil-based energy, gaining competitiveness and reaching the ambitious CO2 reduction targets that have been set for the air industry,' says Antonio Vázquez, chairman of Iberia.