India’s first test flight partially powered by biofuel was successfully operated from Dehradun to Delhi on Monday. The budget passenger carrier SpiceJet flight, run on a blend of 75 per cent air turbine fuel (ATF) and 25 per cent
biofuel, was flagged off by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.
According to officials, Dehradun-based Indian Institute of Petroleum developed the biofuel with a mixture of Jatropha seed oil and hydrogen. The 75-seater Bombardier Q400 aircraft with 20 people onboard was received by Union Cabinet Ministers and airline officials at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi.
The Union Government plans to come out with a “special policy” for use of biofuel in the aviation sector, said Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari at the media briefing after the arrival of the flight.
The Government will make an environment friendly aviation action plan by 2035, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said.
The development assumes significance as the high ATF prices have dented the Indian airline sector with almost all players reporting losses for the first quarter of 2018-19.
Currently, fuel prices constitute 50-55 per cent of the overall operations cost of domestic airlines. India’s ATF prices are one of the highest in the world due to the addition of State levies and taxes.
The fuel is not under the GST ambit like the bunker fuel used for the shipping industry.