Qatar Airways plans to have a biofuel trial with a flight from London Gatwick to Doha.
The airline's chief executive Akbar Al Baker says the biofuel flight will be in October from London Gatwick to Doha.
"I can't go into too much detail [because] it is a project I prefer to have announced in a proper press conference," Al Baker told delegates at the IATA AGM in Kuala Lumpur yesterday during a dialogue session discussing aviation and the environment.
Al Baker says Qatar Airways is investing in biofuel research and development and is working with research organisations in Qatar.
He says airlines need to work harder to lobby governments to get the airline industry's message across.
"We are being targeted by the EU and maybe in future by other governments."
Governments are imposing taxes and emission trading schemes, he says.
The airline industry is a smaller player when it comes to emissions "but we are the sole target for these kinds of taxes," he adds.
At the AGM, IATA announced three major environmental goals for the airline industry: achieve carbon neutral growth by 2020, increase fuel efficiency by 1.5% on average per annum and halve emissions of carbon dioxide in 2050 compared to 2005.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
