Red Arrows team using vegetable oil to fly

The RIAT event at RAF Fairford is celebrating its 40th anniversary

The Red Arrows have been flying at a popular air show with fuel made of vegetable oil.

The RIAT event at the Royal Air Force (RAF) base in Fairford, Gloucestershire, is currently under way and celebrating its 40th anniversary, with planes showcased from across Europe.

The RAF's Red Arrows are flying on all three days, with 35% of their fuel being sustainable, which includes hydrotreated vegetable oil.

Discussing the use of sustainable fuel, senior engineering officer of the RAF Red Arrows Andy King, said: "As we scale production and that increases, what you actually get is the costs come down and you become more self-sufficient as a country."

He added that using the fuel could provide an "added operational resilience" if the UK entered into conflict with "countries to the east".

"We'd be no longer be reliant on their fuel," he said.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to visit the major aviation event, which started on Friday and ends on Sunday evening.

Kate McKinley, people and sustainability director of RIAT, said the carbon footprint of the air show would be monitored and it would find out the results later this year.