Sustainable development initiatives in the aviation industry

The impact of the aviation industry on the environment and society is a topic that has been high on the agenda of the companies in the sector and which for years now have been on a path to wider planning for sustainable development. In this context, various actions are being implemented both for the environment and for social sustainability.

Most airlines for years have been implementing practices to reduce waste from their flights and save fuel, while simultaneously investing in research to develop new practices that will further reduce their environmental footprint.

The airline group, AIRFRANCE KLM, which also owns Transavia, in 2023 invested 4.7 million dollars in the company DG Fuels, to complete a project aimed at the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), based on hydrogen.

Emirates, in an effort to integrate sustainability into its daily practices, has replaced the traditional passenger blankets with blankets made from recycled plastic bottles. Also, the meals it offers to passengers come from local producers. Another goal of the airline is to reuse 50,000 kg of materials, removed from aircraft which are being refurbished. With these materials and especially with suitable seat fabrics, handmade school bags will be created to be given to children from vulnerable groups in Africa and Asia. A similar action has taken place in the past, where a collection of travel bags and accessories was created using recycled materials such as leather, aluminum and wood, which were then sold and the proceeds donated to the Emirates Foundation to support charitable projects.

Iberia is also included among the companies that carry out actions for the development of local communities. The Spanish carrier, in collaboration with the non-profit organisation ``Mano a Mano'', founded by its employees and the association for the development of rural communities ADECOR, has created the educational center ``Maya Kaqchikel Beleje Noj'', which is the only secondary school in the rural community of San Martín Jilotepeque, Guatemala. At the same time, Iberia supports the development program of the Douar Afernou el Fouki community in Morocco, in collaboration with the Mediterranean Association for Development and Environmental Protection. More specifically, Iberia organised two auctions of works of art in Madrid with all the proceeds donated to the renovation of two fountains and a tank to channel water to the homes of the community's 255 residents. In addition, ovens were built, which allow food to be baked in an ecological way without the use of electricity. Guatemala and Morocco are destinations where the airline operates flights.

In Greece, Aegean Airlines has been supporting the SOS Children's Villages of Greece since 2008, with the participation of the public as well. With every plane ticket passengers buy, they have the option to donate 2 euros to the organisation, with Aegean Airlines adding another 2 euros to the donation afterwards. From 2008 to 2022, donations amounted to 2.9 million euros and with the amount co-financed the construction of the organisation's baby hostel in Maroussi, the houses in the SOS children's villages of Heraklion and Alexandroupolis, as well as the operating costs of the teachers' centers of SOS children's villages in Heraklion, Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Kalamata and Patras.

At the same time, an original collaboration aimed at sustainability is that of Dubai International Airport with Disney Middle East. The two organisations joined forces following an initiative by the airport, which through this special collaboration, sought to increase awareness of recycling and the need to reduce single-use plastics. As part of it, during screenings of Disney films in the cinemas, such as Toy Story, activity stations were set up in the airport at various points, where passengers - children and young people of all ages learned how to transform recyclable materials into toys and/or beloved characters.

At the same time, airports are creating partnerships to develop practices to reduce the impact of daily activities on the environment. An example is Zurich airport, where the water coming from the toilets and restaurants ends up in the sewage system of the two municipalities in the area and is treated, with the aim of producing biogas. In Italy, Rome's two airports are partnering with the start-up Too Good To Go, enabling passengers to buy, at a discounted price, leftover airport cafeteria food that has expired and would otherwise be thrown away, but is still suitable for consumption. At the same time, surplus food is composted, with the compost being used for the needs of the plants at the two airports.

Actions also being carried out in Cyprus

A similar initiative is also being implemented at Cypriot airports, where leftover coffee beans from cafeterias are composted, so that they are turned into fertilizer, which is given to passengers free of charge. The public can get them, at this stage, from Larnaca airport, specifically from the Costa Coffee located at the departure gates and from the Flo Café in the passenger meeting area at arrivals.

Significant investment is also being made in the creation of solar parks, with one of the largest airport parks in the world having been built at Denver Airport in the US at 140 hectares. Accordingly, in Cyprus, the first photovoltaic parks of Larnaca and Paphos airports were inaugurated last year, and which cover 28% of the annual energy needs.

(This interview first appeared in Flight Mode magazine, in Greek. Click here to view it.)