A first-of-its-kind breakfast at Heathrow, The Fly Up, which is cooked with oil that is then cleaned and recycled into renewable biofuels, has taken off today.
The Heathrow Fly Up has been created in partnership with chef Heston Blumenthal to create awareness of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in response to only 14 percent of travellers having heard of it, despite the fact it will play a key role in reducing the carbon footprint of the aviation industry. In the UK aviation sector’s latest net zero roadmap, SAF is the single biggest innovation that will help it hit its Net Zero target by 2050.
“We are delighted to partner with Heston Blumenthal's The Perfectionists’ Café to introduce the ‘Fly Up’, a breakfast that not only gives passengers a delicious start to the day but will raise awareness about SAF and its potential to transform this industry. By demonstrating how cooking oils can be converted into biofuels, we want people to understand how SAF is a real solution to decarbonise aviation and show how we’re continuing our mission to get to Net Zero by 2050," said Matt Gorman, director of carbon at Heathrow.
Heathrow has committed to decarbonising, and biofuels have a key role to play in its Net Zero plan. On the ground, Heathrow has made the switch to HVO biodiesel with over 95 percent of its operational diesel fleet now run on the fuel. It is a global airport leader on SAF – setting a goal for 11 per cent of the jet fuel used at Heathrow to be SAF by 2030. Heathrow’s pioneering Sustainable Aviation Fuel scheme incentivises the use of SAF at the airport, approximately halving the price gap between conventional jet fuel and SAF, making it more affordable to airlines. Thanks, in part to this scheme, approximately 10 percent of the world’s SAF was used at Heathrow in 2022.
The aim is that this will become more commonplace as people learn about the benefits of SAF. Currently, 63 percent would choose to travel more sustainably if they could, yet nine in 10 flyers are unaware of the purpose of SAF – one of the most important factors in reducing the carbon footprint of the aviation industry.
"We know that having the right government policies in place is crucial to making this shift happen. We need a mandate for SAF use, as well as a price support mechanism, to de-risk and incentivise investment in UK SAF facilities.”
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