Flying back to Pre-covid Lifestyle??

After more than a year like most of you, I took a flight recently. After somewhat eventful RTPCR testing and preparations, I reached airport. I loved rushing through security, boarding through just digital boarding pass and self baggage drop. Like many of you I had somewhat learnt these things before leaving the home thanks to beloved google, ICMR and last The airline.

Must say the efficiency in boarding process has gone up by couple of notches. Hope it helps airlines to change customer behavior for long run and improves turn around of flights. That aside, thing to note is saving in carbon footprint. Look at the resources like printing paper saved, check-in time saved and better aircraft utilization. It means lesser demand of natural resources like wood and metals. Yes, may be marginal but some beginning. Airline industry currently produces around 3% of world's emissions. Air Travel is the most carbon intensive activity an individual can make. Aviation is responsible for 10% of climate change caused by the human activity.

Where airlines should work more is inflight services and fuel. Problem gets more aggravated with longer routes. Long haul means longer, higher altitudes and higher emissions. Commercial flights will be one of the last engines to drive on alternate fuels on a scale. Long hauls means more inflight services.

Airlines to keep operations cost low and higher food margin, prefer ready to eat packed food and beverages. When I took flights recently, fortunately I was carrying the my water bottle. I observed that majority of people were taking the small free water bottles from air crew. It is surely a avoidable wastage. I don't blame people for not carrying water. Just look at the drinking water fountains at the airports, those are not bottle friendly. Atleast after security checks, there should be suitable water points for bottles. Even any domestic flight of typical 2 hrs shedule has 180 odd passengers. Even optimistically it leads to the wastage of 100 bottles per flight. For daily domestic 2500 flight, you can easily save 100*2500 plastic bottles from going to the waste with simple waster dispensers near boarding. Airlines seems to have moved away from using disposable cups to inflight 100ml water bottles for operational reasons. Commuters should be encouraged to bring own suitable reusable cutlery may be wooden spoons, cups, accessories etc. Remember Zomato eco-friendly deliveries without cutlery? Airlines do take pre-orders these days. Airlines can simply sparkle conscious for opting out of complementary cutlery too.

Yes, I agree with your counterview that airlines can't do all themselves. Airport management has to collaborate with airlines for managing waste, providing alternative facilities like water at waiting areas, cleaner fuel. Airports such as Norway's oslo airport and Bergen Airport, Los Angeles international airport and stockholm Arlanda airport do make sustainable aviation fuels available at regular basis.

Encouraging the behavioral and systematic changes in air travel is very important. Around 4.5 billion passengers flew annual before covid. Passengers numbers will double by 2035 as per IATA. In 2018, airlines generated 6.7 million tons of cabin waste. Only 9% of plastic generated is recycled. Every year airlines toss 9000 tons of plastic and enough aluminum cans to build 58 new Boeing 747s.

One of the notable "world's first zero waste to landfill flight" of Australia's Qantas, sailed from Sydney to Adelaide. It replaced plastic items with bio-degradable items. It collected leftover for reuse, recycle and composting. Waste was reduced from 75 pounds to small plastic bag. Closer home, Vistara is similarly adopting measures to minimize the use of plastics in its in-flight meal and is the only carrier in the India to serve oxo-biodegradable cutlery.

In 2009, the International Air Transport Association put in place strategic targets for the aviation industry. This includes carbon neutral growth from 2020 and 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. 81 countries under UN negotiated plan known as Carbon Offsetting and Reduction scheme for international aviation(CORSIA), aim to cap any increase in carbon emissions through purchase of carbon offsets. Many airlines have started thinking outside the single trash bag. Emirates, SAS and Qantas have introduced onboard recycling facilities to sort aluminum, plastic, glass and paper products before landing. Alaska Airlines in 2016 flew world's first commercial flight powered by forest residual bio fuels. Virgin Atlantic partners with sustainable Restaurant Association for 5.5 million meals served each year. At some airlines, sponges from headsets are being recycled to surface equestrian center, while disused plastics are repurposed into benches. Whenever you like aviation, major thing to notice is the collaboration they have for traffic control, ground handling facilities and various ancillary services. They can collaborate to build reverse supply chains, pragmatic benchmarks and invest into ecofriendly solutions. Government can push agenda by offering conditional rebates, incentives. Even markets can value these initiative thanks to ESG funds and green activism.

Hope we customers also pay and appreciate these initiatives. Fly Responsibly. Do read about "flygskam" if interested. :)