Superjumbo makes test flight with synthetic fuel

摘要

Airbus has completed the world's first commercial-aircraft flight using a liquid fuel processed from gas. An A380 aircraft flew from the manufacturing centre at Filton, UK, to Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse, France, as the first stage of a programme to evaluate the environmental impact of alternative fuels in the airline market. During the flight, one of the plane's four engines was fed with a blend of the GTL ('gas to liquids') synthetic fuel and conventional jet fuel. The remaining three were fed with standard jet fuel. The aim of the programme is to look at the feasibility and potential benefits of using GTL synthetic jet fuels. GTL is a technology that takes natural gas and converts it to liquid kerosene.