A Virgin Atlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) has taken off from London's Heathrow Airport bound for New York.

The flight is the first of its kind across the Atlantic and the airline's founder Sir Richard Branson has hailed it as "historic". The aviation industry and the government say the experiment is a step towards net zero air travel.

But SAF currently costs three to five times as much as regular kerosene jet fuel and environmental campaigners say the transatlantic flight is just a "gimmick". Report by Brooksl. Like us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/itn and follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/itn