Those of you who follow Cheapflights Flight News know we’ve been chronicling a cascade of route cuts lately, almost all of them triggered by still sky-high jet fuel costs. Now, some hopeful news.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport, a major hub for Delta Air Lines, is gearing up to grow, harvest and process bio-jet fuels. The airport will do it right there, on its own property and will be partnering with Michigan State University’s Extension Office on the project.
Wayne County Airport Authority Interim CEO Genelle M. Allen poses the question this way: “How does aviation protect itself in the future against the depletion of fossil fuels and the uncertainty of foreign sources of energy? Part of the answer may be to grow it.”
A number of airlines have carried out successful biofuel tests over the past few years, Continental, Virgin Atlantic, and Air New Zealand among them.
If the Detroit project pans out, Allen says it “could attract business to the vicinity of airports that would produce alternative fuels for use in aircraft and other vehicles.”
Between them, DTW and nearby Willow Run Airport have about 1,700 acres suitable for biofuel crops. On a far broader scale (the aviation industry is pursuing alternative fuels with a passion these days) sustainable sources like this could mean more predictable ticket prices and fewer airline route cuts. Good news for consumers.
Story by Jerry Chandler
(Image: vige)
