Virgin Atlantic chief executive Shai Weiss, Virgin Group founder and president Sir Richard Branson and transport secretary Mark Harper were among the dignitaries onboard Virgin Atlantic flight VS100, or Flight 100, which departed Heathrow on 28 November, landing at New York’s JFK airport a few hours later without incident.

The service was given the green light in early November after Virgin Atlantic last year won a Department for Transport (DfT) competition to execute the first 100% SAF-powered transatlantic flight within 12 months. 

Despite the momentous occasion, SAF’s efficacy as a carbon reduction tool for the aviation section has been called into question, it currently costs four times more than conventional jet fuel with production currently well below what would be required to achieve even the government’s aim of a 10% mandate by 2030.

“Now we need collaboration between industry and government who both have critical deliveries, to scale up SAF production to make 100% SAF flights an everyday reality,” said Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye on Monday (11 December).

Woldbye’s plea came as the London hub revealed 6.1 million passengers passed through its terminals in November, a 10.2% increase on last year’s levels.

According to the figures released on Monday (11 December), the biggest increase was seen in passengers coming from the Asia-Pacific region, with tens of thousands of people flying to and from India for Diwali. 

Traffic to North America peaked towards the end of the month around the Thanksgiving holiday, when more than 50,000 people flew across the Atlantic from Heathrow

Toronto, Singapore and Chicago were among several destinations that hit the one million passenger mark during the year to date, with Lisbon, San Francisco and Edinburgh on track to achieve the milestone by the end of the year.