LONDON:The world's first commercial aircraft powered partly by biofuel took to the skies last month.

The Virgin Atlantic 747 took off en route from London Heathrow to Amsterdam using a 20 per cent biofuel mix of coconut and babassu oil in one of its four main fuel tanks.

Virgin boss Richard Branson said the "historic" flight was the first step towards using biofuels on commercial flights.

But he said fully commercial biofuel flights were likely to use feedstocks such as algae rather than the mix used on Virgin's passenger-less test run.

The flight was made in partnership with Boeing, engine maker General Electric and Imperium Renewables, with the aim of reducing carbon emissions.

Environmental groups immediately dismissed the test flight as a "publicity stunt".

Campaigners said carbon savings from biofuels, often made from organic materials such as wheat, sugarcane and palm oil, are negligible.

There is also rising concern biofuel crops could be competing with food production, damaging the environment and displacing indigenous local populations.

Branson said his fuel was "completely environmentally and socially sustainable" and does not compete with food and fresh water resources.

He said the jet engines and aircraft needed no special modifications to take the fuel, which would make it easy for the industry to implement.

But, speaking from the Virgin hangar at Heathrow, Branson said: "What we are using today isn't going to be the fuel that we are using when we come to commercial use." He said it was more likely to be an algae, possibly made in sewage plants.