SpiceJet debuts India’s first biojet fuel flight

SpiceJet Ltd. today completed its maiden flight using a blend of aviation fuel and oil from jatropha seeds, furthering Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s push for greater use of alternative resources to cut India’s dependence on oil imports.

A Bombardier Q400 aircraft made the one-way trip to New Delhi from the city of Dehradun, about 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the capital. The private airline plans to blend a quarter of its energy requirement with bio fuel for flight operations, that would lower costs and help reduce carbon emissions by 15 percent, SpiceJet said Monday in a statement.

“Bio jet fuel has the potential to reduce the cost of aviation,” SpiceJet chairman Ajay Singh told reporters in New Delhi. “This fuel is also clean, it creates less noise pollution, it creates far less carbon footprint, in fact it creates zero emission of greenhouse gases.”