An ATR 72-600 aircraft operated by Swedish airline BRA has performed its first biofuel-powered flight.

Using a fuel blend comprising used cooking oil, the flight was conducted from Stockholm Bromma Airport to Umeå.

The lightweight ATR 72-600 aircraft provides optimised speed and is designed to serve short routes.

“Today’s challenge is to get a large-scale production of biofuels at affordable costs while avoiding a negative impact on the environment."

Currently offering services to 12 regions across Sweden, BRA has started replacing its Saab 2000 aircraft with modern ATR 72-600 planes in order to deploy fuel-efficient aircraft on the regional market.     

BRA CEO Christian Clemens said: “Sweden is currently debating a new tax on aviation.

“It will have a minimal impact on emissions, and will unfortunately slow down the pace in which we can continue to make aviation more sustainable.

“The ATR 72-600, especially if powered by biofuel, is the optimal transportation on many of our routes and features the highest standards of environmental care.”

In addition, various research and development initiatives are currently underway to produce biofuels from different types of wood, which covers more than 50% of Sweden.  

The country is estimated to require less than 2% of the total annual forest growth to make the country’s domestic air traffic completely fossil-free.

ATR CEO Christian Scherer said: “Today’s challenge is to get a large-scale production of biofuels at affordable costs while avoiding a negative impact on the environment.

“Swedish airlines like BRA can take advantage of the massive expansion of its forests, along with the operation of fuel-efficient turboprops, to reach the ambitious goal of halving their CO2 emissions by 2025.”

The company has so far provided aircraft to 200 airlines worldwide.

Image: ATR 72-600 aircraft being fuelled with fossil-free oil. Photo: courtesy of ATR.