The statement has been made following online concerns were raised after China Southern reported that it had to dump 43 tonnes of fuel before making an emergency landing in Iceland.
The flight, heading from New York to Guangzhou, was forced to divert to Iceland due to a medical emergency on board.
"When fuel is dumped from a jetliner, it forms a mist which is then widely diluted throughout the environment," notes an official with China Southern. "Captains generally choose to dump fuel while flying over the ocean or other uninhabited areas, with minimal impact on the environment," notes the company.
Passenger aircraft are normally forced to dump fuel in the case of emergency landings, as airline standards required that jetliners carry enough fuel to make it to their destination, as well as an alternate landing destination.
However, the recent China Southern flight was just over half-way through its flight when it was forced to make the emergency landing due to the medical emergency.
Overweight aircraft attempting to land can put the entire jet in danger, as the added weight increases the pressure on a jetliner's wheels when landing, also makes the aircraft harder to stop due to the increased weight, and also adds an increased risk of fire should an incident occur.
The particular runway in Iceland where the China Southern flight had to divert to wasn't long enough to handle what's known as a "heavy landing."
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