KLM Testing Biofuels on Passenger Flight

As many of us in the U.S. are planning our Thanksgiving menus, Dutch airline company KLM is planning the first biofuel flight with passengers on board. On November 23, a Boeing 747 will take off running on a 50/50 combination of biofuel and jet fuel.

The biofuel being used in this test flight will be made from camelina, a feedstock that produces 84 percent less emissions than regular jet fuel and has proven to be a low-impact crop, requiring less water and fertilizer and can grow in areas where food crops won't be displaced.

Other test flights have been done using other feedstocks like jatropha and without passengers with positive results, but this will be the first using a purely camelina biofuel and with people (other than the pilot) onboard..