British Airways has become the first airline at Heathrow Airport to introduce an electric shuttle bus service which will be used to transport staff between the terminal and the airline’s head quarters.

The electric shuttle bus service for BA staff will swing into action this week. The airline estimates that over a year, the electric bus will cover 17,710 miles and thanks to the bus’s low emissions, the vehicle will save 20 tonnes in reduced emissions every year compared to a fuel powered bus.

The 8.1 metre long green bus has the capacity to carry 24 seated passengers and additional standing passengers. To highlight the battery powered bus’s green credentials, the vehicle has been painted bright green. The bus will undertake shuttle runs transporting staff between Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport, and British Airways head quarters at Waterside.

British Airways say the new green initiative is just one way in which the airline is looking to reduce its carbon footprint. The battery powered bus service is supplied by Flights Hallmark who say it’s vital for companies to explore different ways for powering vehicles and subsequently reducing their carbon emissions.

BA is also looking at ways in which to reduce their carbon emissions in the air by developing sustainable jet fuel plants. However Lufthansa is the only airline which is currently trialling biofuel on regular commercial routes.