BA is partnering with LanzaJet for sustainable aviation fuel as part of the carrier’s plans to decarbonize by 2050, amid rising pressure on the aviation industry to cut emissions. The US startup will supply ethanol-derived fuel from its Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Georgia, and BA will use it to power some flights starting in late 2022, the companies said Tuesday. As part of the collaboration, BA will invest in LanzaJet and the startup will conduct early-stage planning to set up a larger biofuel facility in the UK. Aircraft manufacturers and airlines face growing public pressure over their emissions, which added more than 1b metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in 2019, according to BloombergNEF. Airbus has said it will develop a range of hydrogen-powered aircraft that could reach the skies by 2035, and Boeing has set a target of designing and certifying its jetliners to fly on 100% sustainable fuels by 2030. BA and LanzaJet didn’t provide financial details of their agreement. The airline’s parent, IAG, has said it plans to invest $400m in the development of sustainable aviation fuel over the next 20 years as part of a plan to achieve zero net emissions by 2050. BA is also developing a sustainable fuel plant in the UK with Velocys that could begin producing jet fuel from 2025.<br/>
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Independent analysis has found no evidence that Ukrainian authorities were aware of the threat to high-altitude traffic, and specifically civil aviation, before a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER was shot down by a surface-to-air missile. This is despite Ukrainian national security officials’ openly floating the possibility that high-powered weapons might have entered into the conflict in the east of the country before the 777 was attacked. The US-based Flight Safety Foundation has examined the case of flight MH17, which had been crossing the conflict zone of eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, just above a 32,000ft boundary of restricted airspace. While the adequacy of this upper boundary was questioned during a Dutch Safety Board investigation – given that MH17 was brought down by a powerful Buk anti-aircraft missile – the Flight Safety Foundation “did not find sufficient facts” that the Ukrainian authorities could have had proper awareness of a high-altitude threat or a threat against civil aircraft. “There were numerous reports about the presence of heavy weapons in the region, such as tanks, MANPADS, artillery and large calibre machine guns,” says the Foundation, in a newly-published factual inquiry into the airspace closure. “However, there were few reports in the public space about armed non-state forces possessing weapons with a capability to attack above [32,000ft].” Story has more.<br/>
American Airlines is expanding international service from its Miami hub, with new direct flights to Tel Aviv and Paramaribo, Suriname, set to launch in June and July, respectively, as well as increasing frequencies across its traditionally extensive Latin American network. The Fort Worth-based airline says on 8 February that its overall capacity to Latin America will be 16% above 2019 levels. “Our new service to Tel Aviv and Paramaribo are the start of further growth in Miami, and as the city grows and expands, American will do the same,” says the airline’s VP of network planning, Brian Znotins. <br/>