Airports in the Highlands and islands could pioneer the use of biofuels for plane refuelling.
A business case on the proposal will be drawn up as part of a £1.8million project to use innovative technologies to ensure air links to remote areas are cost effective and environmentally friendly.
Regional transport group Hitrans – along with local councils and Highlands and Islands Airports (HIAL) – plan to study Karlstad Airport in Sweden, which last year became the first airport in Europe to install a fixed storage tank for aviation biofuel.
Trials are also planned to evaluate ways to support electric buses, cars and taxis to serve the airports in the region.
Hitrans yesterday announced that it had appointed a project officer, Jayne Westbrook, to spearhead the three-year initiative SPARA 2020 (Smart Peripheral and Remote Airports).
She said: “I am delighted with my appointment to co-ordinate and support the delivery of this exciting Euro project.
“Airports in rural communities are a lifeline for our residents and vital for our local businesses. This project will hopefully strengthen the role that they play by identifying ways of operating in a more eco-friendly and cost effective way.”
Drew Hendry, SNP transport spokesman and MP for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, welcomed the plans.
“The challenges facing regional airports and peripheral areas are very different than those faced by busy airports in populated areas, none more so than the ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ flights we are all already too familiar with,” he said.
“It is therefore vital that offerings from regional airports such as Inverness are sustainable and cost effective to operators.
“I have already met with Hitrans to discuss the work they are doing in this area and was encouraged that they are already looking to the pioneering work done at Sweden’s Karlstadt Airport.
“In an ever changing competitive world, Inverness and peripheral airports must to look to innovative technologies to increase cost effectiveness, lower carbon emissions and to provide better services.
“I welcome the SPARA 2020 project and look forward to seeing how it develops over the coming months.”