Singapore Airlines (SIA) has just launched its "farm-to-plane" initiative in its quest towards environmental sustainability.

Fresh produce direct from vertical farms

Plane food might get a bad rap for being tasteless and rubbery, but SIA's new programme aims to bring new life to the tray-table.

SIA has partnered with the United States-based AeroFarms, an indoor vertical farm that grows its produce in LED-lit rooms and on cloths made from recycled water bottles.

AeroFarms reportedly does not use pesticides and herbicides, according to CNN.

This indoor farming method also utilises 95 per cent less water and procures a higher yield too.

Their farm spans 70,000 sq ft and is located less than 8km from the Newark-Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, which eliminates the need to import produce from far away.

Vegetables grown at AeroFarms will then be carted over to the airport, and served up to passengers in SIA's Business Class.

According to a spokesperson for SIA, the veggies can "make its way into the dishes within hours and up to no more than a few days of being harvested and delivered to our kitchens", providing passengers fresh and sustainable produce.

Currently, this initiative has only been introduced on flights traversing the 19-hour Newark-Singapore route.

However, SIA has plans to expand this initiative to premium economy passengers in the future.

Top photo from AeroFarms / FB and Rachel Ng