The Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), an organization representing parties from across the aviation industry, states that governments across Asia can find a new source of income by producing aviation biofuel.

The trend of airlines paying a price premium for using biofuels may soon drop as more production capacity comes on stream and supply ramps up. In London, Northern California, Sydney and Rome, projects to use municipal waste to produce jet fuel are being developed.

Also, to build plants capable of turning 500,000 tonnes of normal organic urban waste into 16 million gallons of jet biofuel each year, US-based company Solena is working with local airlines.

ATAG Executive Director Paul Steele said, “The progress has been amazing. Just a few years ago, biofuels for aviation were not even on the radar. Since the ASTM approval came through in July, we have had six airlines running passenger services using biofuels. Airlines are currently paying around three times the cost of Jet A-1 for the biofuels they are using, which is of course unsustainable in the long term.”

To produce aviation biofuels, the mega-cities of Asia could potentially supply millions of tonnes of organic waste material, the company has stated. Globally, aviation uses only 10 percent of the liquid fuels used for transport.

More than other transport fuels, it is also distributed through smaller and more tightly-controlled system: 1,600 airports worldwide fuel 95 percent of the world's flights. In the United States alone, this compares to over 161,000 gas stations, the company stated in a press release.

The usage of Aviation Biofuels is on the rise. Recently, Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA), operator of Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) and Willow Run Airport (YIP), has partnered with Michigan State University (MSU) Extension Office to grow, harvest and process bioenergy crops on airport-owned property. This strategic initiative-the first of its kind in the Midwest-represents WCAA's commitment to sustainable aviation in part through the promotion and development of aviation biofuels.