British Airways faces criticism for emitting more CO2 by 'fuel tankering'

“Fuel tankering” is the practice carried out by some airlines of carrying excess fuel to avoid having to refuel at each destination to save on bills.

The information came from a BA insider during a BBC investigation report and has sparked criticism that the widespread use of fuel tankering by airlines was hypocritical. The source from inside the company also questioned BA's commitment to shrinking its carbon footprint.

The BA insider said: "For such a big company to be trying to save such small amounts while emitting so much extra CO2 seems unjustifiable in the current climate.”

BA said on Monday that it would review the practice and Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA’s parent company IAG, admitted that using the method was “maybe the wrong thing to do”.

However, documents seen by the BBC showed that a recent BA flight to Italy took on board nearly three tonnes of extra fuel, saving the airline just £40 but boosting its CO2 emissions by 600kg.

BA said that its fuel tankering generated 18,000 tonnes of additional CO2 per year – less than 0.1% of its overall emissions – and that it accounted for only 2.0% of tankering in Europe.