Singapore Airlines (SIA), in partnership with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), has started operating a series of ‘green package’ flights on its non-stop San Francisco-Singapore route.

SIA says it is “committed to the global effort to reduce international aviation emissions” and the initiative falls under the auspices of the Singapore government’s efforts to improve sustainability.

SIA claims the ‘green package’ flights are the first in the world to combine the use of biofuels, fuel-efficient aircraft and optimised flight operations. CAAS is facilitating the use of these optimised flight operations and Air Traffic Management (ATM) best practices which reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions for the flights.

The programme will run for three months and includes 12 flights. The first of the flights, SQ31, departed San Francisco on May 1 and arrived in Singapore on May 2 with 206 passengers on board.

“SIA’s fleet is already among the most modern and fuel-efficient in the world,” says SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong. “We now want to push ourselves further and are embarking on this initiative to help promote the use of sustainable biofuel in an operationally and commercially-viable manner. This is in line with our long-term commitment to further reduce carbon emissions while improving the efficiency of our operations.”

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