A Virgin Atlantic Airways Ad Has Been Banned in the U.K. Here’s Why

The Advertising Standard Authority (ASA) of the U.K. has banned a radio advertisement from the airline Virgin Atlantic because the authority believed it could be misleading to listeners.

In November, radio listeners heard an ad describing a unique flight mission from London’s Heathrow airport to New York’s JFK. Virgin Atlantic said the flight would use "100% sustainable fuel,” making it the world’s first commercial airline to pioneer such a transatlantic flight. “When they said it was too difficult, we said: ‘Challenge accepted.’ Virgin Atlantic Flight 100. See the world differently,” the ad stated.

However, some took issue with the wording of the advertisement. The ASA received five complaints around the phrasing of “100% sustainable fuel,” which it ultimately ruled could be misleading to listeners. Virgin Atlantic claimed it was using the term “sustainable fuel” to refer to any kind of fuel which is not derived from fossil sources, according to the ASA ruling. These fuels emit less carbon dioxide than fossil fuels, but nevertheless still do produce carbon emissions.

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The ASA said that some listeners were “unlikely to be aware of the extent to which fuels described as sustainable aviation fuel still had negative environmental impacts, and in what ways.”

Per the ASA ruling, “Flight 100 was calculated to have delivered savings of 64% in greenhouse gas emissions compared to fossil derived aviation fuel.” However, the organization believed that the term “100% sustainable fuel” could make consumers believe that the flight did not produce any emissions at all. Therefore, it made the decision to require Virgin Atlantic to ensure all future ads that refer to sustainable fuel include “qualifying information.”

In an emailed statement to TIME, Virgin Atlantic said: "While we are disappointed that the ASA has ruled in favour of a small number of complaints, we remain committed to open, accurate, and transparent engagement on the challenge of decarbonisation."

Virgin Atlantic also said that the term “sustainable aviation fuel” is “used globally by industry and government for fossil-alternative aviation fuels that adhere to specific sustainability criteria.”