China completes first passenger flight with biofuel

China on Saturday completed its first passenger flight with sustainable biofuel, a milestone for the country's commercial aviation industry.

The Hainan Airlines flight -- a Boeing 737 -- carried over 100 passengers from Shanghai to Beijing using biofuel made by Sinopec from waste cooking oil collected from restaurants in China, Xinhua reported.

The two engines of the aircraft were powered by the fuel, which was a blend approximately of half biofuel and half traditional jet fuel, the company said.

"We are honoured to see our flight with safe and effective biofuel," said Pu Ming, vice president of Hainan Airlines, who was also the pilot.

 

Boeing has been collaborating with Chinese airlines to develop the aviation biofuel industry. In 2011, Air China conducted China's first test flight with aviation biofuel with a Boeing 747 plane.