Trials set to test environmentally 'perfect' air travel

The potential to save 30,000kg of fuel across 60 transatlantic flights is to be tested through a trial to see if environmentally 'perfect' flights are possible on a large scale.

The trial, called Topflight, will feature 60 British Airway departures out of Heathrow to various North American airports over a period of four months. Led by NATS, the UK-based air traffic services company, it will examine the environmental impact of everything from aircraft pushback from the stand and taxiing to the use of an optimised flight profile and continuous descent approach.

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