As part of their long-term commitment towards sustainability, and in a bid to raise awareness of the effects of plastic pollution, Etihad Airways is operating the world’s first single-use plastic-free flight under an ultra-long haul sector. This milestone plastic free Flight EY484 will depart Abu Dhabi on 21 April, landing in Brisbane on Earth Day, 22nd April. Till now no airlines have demonstrated an ultra-long haul single-use plastic free flight. In addition, Etihad Airways is the first airline in the Middle East to do so.
The flight from Abu Dhabi to Brisbane is the first stage in Etihad’s plan to reduce its reliance on single-use plastic by 80 percent by the end of 2022.
AIRLINE CABIN WASTE ISSUE & HOW ETIHAD FOUND AN ANSWER
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), 5.7 million tonnes of airline cabin waste was generated in 2017, and with current passenger growth rates, this waste volume could double by 2027. Around the world, the problem of single-use plastic waste and its impact on the marine environment is gaining more attention. Governments are focusing on minimizing food waste, and airlines are concerned that the regulatory system may inhibit their ability to respond to these challenges. Last year, the United Nations called for global action to beat plastic pollution, stating that 400 million tonnes of plastics are produced every year, 63 percent of which are intended for single-use.
Etihad identified over 95 single-use plastic products used across aircraft cabins, most of which were replaced with eco-friendly alternatives including cups, cutlery, dishes, headset bags, cart seals and toothbrushes. Once removed from this flight, Etihad prevented over 50 kilograms of plastics from being landfilled. Where suitable replacements could not be sourced, these items were not loaded. Etihad worked with suppliers to ensure products were not wrapped in single-use plastics.
Buzz, Etihad’s current supplier of amenity products, are supporters of the project and have collaborated with the airline to provide sustainable amenity kits, eco-plush toys, and award-winning eco-thread blankets. Buzz pioneered and produced the blankets out of recycled plastic bottles.
Finding certain sustainable alternatives to single-use plastic items was easier for Etihad, while for other alternatives, the team decided to opt for more innovative solutions. The Earth day plastic free flight is going to offer an edible coffee cup to passengers, which is made entirely out of natural grain. The ‘cupffee’ cup is entirely plant-based, made with healthy compositions, with less added sugar, and it even tastes like a biscuit. So when you will request for a coffee on this flight, you will get coffee in a biscuit cup!
Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “There is a growing concern globally about the overuse of plastics which can take thousands of years to decompose. We discovered we could remove 27 million single-use plastic lids from our inflight service a year and, as a leading airline, it’s our responsibility to act on this, to challenge industry standards and work with suppliers who provide lower-impact alternatives.”
ETIHAD’S SUSTAINABILITY COMMITMENTS
Etihad Airways sustainability commitments are not just limited to Earth Day plastic free flight; to take their environmental commitments beyond Earth Day celebrations, Etihad additionally committed to removing up to 20 percent of the single-use plastic items on board by 1 June 2019. By the end of this year, Etihad will have removed 100 tonnes of single-use plastics from its inflight service. Additionally, Etihad pledged to reduce single-use plastic usage by 80 percent not just in-flight, but across the entire organization by the end of 2022.
However, the single-use plastic free flight is not the only sustainability initiative by Etihad. Back in Jan 2019, Etihad Airways flew the first commercial flight, partially fueled by locally produced biofuel derived from plants grown in saltwater, which reduces carbon emissions. The Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC), a non-profit entity established by Masdar Institute (part of Khalifa University of Science and Technology), Boeing, ADNOC, Safran, GE and BAUER Resources, worked together with Etihad Airways in developing a comprehensive sustainable aviation fuel value chain for this flight.
On the ground, employees of Etihad’s Ramp Management team, based at Abu Dhabi International Airport, launched an initiative to reduce 1.6 million plastic bottles in a year. During the summer months, over 13,000 bottles are distributed daily. As of last month, 19-liter water dispensers were distributed across all break-room facilities, not only reducing single-use plastics but also saving the airline AED 800,000 yearly.
H.E. Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei, Chairman Etihad Aviation Group, said: “This step is an extension of Etihad’s pioneering environmental efforts. Inaugurating 2019 with the locally sourced biofuel flight and the operation of the longest single-use plastic free flight is a testament to our commitment to leading effective change towards sustainability.”
CHALLENGES BEHIND SINGLE-USE PLASTIC FREE FLIGHT
Sustainability Tribe’s local social initiative #ZeroWasteUAE caught the attention of Etihad Airways team and they facilitated an exclusive interview with the Etihad Airways’ team who was behind this epic flight.
Linda Celestino, VP Guest Experience and Delivery, Etihad Airways, spoke about a difference to a regular service for crew and the importance of this initiative.
Sustainability Tribe: What was the main motivation behind this initiative?
Linda, Etihad Airways: As a leading airline, it’s our responsibility to challenge industry standards and reduce our impact on the environment, which includes eliminating single-use plastic. Preparing for our flight to Brisbane allowed us to test whether or not we were ready to make a long-term commitment and reducing single-use plastics and the answer was yes.
Sustainability Tribe: Do you think all your inflight guests will be comfortable with this new initiative especially edible coffee cups?
Linda, Etihad Airways: This flight is a test bed for new initiatives and we’ve challenged ourselves and our suppliers for alternative products such as the edible coffee cup. Understanding that not all guests may be open to trying the cup, they will have the choice to have their drinks in a paper cup that we will load on the flight.
Sustainability Tribe: Are there any further plans to educate your guests about plastic pollution?
Linda, Etihad Airways: We try to infuse our guest experience with educational material through our inflight entertainment system and publications where we address environmental sustainability issues. We also currently feature a film on EBOX (our inflight entertainment system) called ‘Zayed’s Antarctic Lights’, produced by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, to raise awareness on climate change and plastic pollution.
Adrian Gane, Head of Industry and International Affairs, Etihad Airways, and an in house Sustainability expert talked about Etihad’s bigger commitment, challenges, and innovation that will make the flight possible
Sustainability Tribe: Are there future plans to take steps further to enhance your sustainability commitment of Etihad flights?
Adrian Gane, Etihad Airways: Yes. We recently confirmed our participation in IEnva – the IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) programme. A voluntary programme based on principles in compliance with environmental obligations and a commitment to continually improve environmental management. This will give us the chance to ensure and improve sustainability inflight and throughout our organization.
In addition to our recent biofuel flight which used UAE produced seawater biomass-derived Aviation fuel (a world first) we plan to develop new supplies of fully sustainable aviation fuel
Sustainability Tribe: What were challenges to implement such sustainability-focused initiative inflight and how did you overcome it?
Adrian Gane, Etihad Airways: We are very fortunate to have unwavering support from our leadership in pursuing this. Convincing management to adopt sustainable choices can be challenging however, this was not the case. In fact, everyone wanted to know how they could be involved to ensure change is achieved.
The real challenge was the ability to source alternative single-use plastic items with more sustainable choices. We discovered we are very plastic-dependent in our service – in catering, cargo, and overall in-flight services. In some cases, we found ourselves deadlocked to source an alternative due to industry requirements/standards, for example, in the case of plastic wrapping of cargo baggage.
Jamal Al Awadhi, VP Guest Experience, Etihad Airways spoke about operational challenges of service changes, sourcing alternative customer-facing products.
Sustainability Tribe: Was it difficult to source these sustainable alternatives?
Jamal Al Awadhi, Etihad Airways: Replacing over 95 items was no easy task especially because we had to ensure that any and all alternatives were 100 percent eco-friendly. If something was even lined or coated with plastic – we agreed it wouldn’t be on the flight. While some suppliers were very supportive, not all were ready operational equipped to meet our requirements. We had to work closely with them to ensure the right products were selected for this flight.
Sustainability Tribe: What was the main focus & factors while selecting these suppliers?
Jamal Al Awadhi, Etihad Airways: Regardless of who the supplier was, our main focus was on the products – they had to be right. Our existing suppliers know our expectations so we worked closely with them to ensure we got the right alternative, from a size, weight, quality and of course sustainable perspective. As a team, we selected and agreed on the products which will be used for this flight and although it was challenging, we are extremely proud of this moment.
So, Tribe, what do you think about this flight? As a passenger, we can be assured that even when we are in the air, we are not creating environmentally harmful plastic waste, and we can still follow our zero-waste lifestyle! For regular flights, here is the list of reusable items we can pack while traveling, to reduce single-use plastic waste.
Here is a popular guide about ‘How to Beat Plastic Pollution?“
On another note, recently we discussed sustainable transportation on Sustainability Tribe and Etihad’s environmentally responsible initiatives are giving us the option of sustainable aviation!