Emirates airline’s fuel efficiency is 15.7 per cent better than Iata’s 2012 forecast industry average, and its carbon dioxide emissions efficiency was 16.6 per cent better than the Iata average, said a report.

The Emirates Group’s third annual environment report attributed the improved fuel efficiency and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions to the airline adding new, modern aircraft and retiring older, less efficient ones.

Emirates retired or cancelled the leases of six aircraft and took delivery of 34 aircraft during the period. The average fleet age is six years versus the Iata average fleet age of 11.7 years, said a statement.

With airline operations constituting the main environmental impact of the Emirates Group, total fuel efficiency for all passenger and freighter flights improved by 0.29 per cent, dropping to 0.3103 litres per tonne kilometre (L/TK). Similarly, carbon dioxide emissions dropped to 0.767 gm of CO2 per tonne kilometre (gCO2/TK), improving efficiency by 0.3 per cent, it said.

Covering the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the audited report analysed environmental performance data from a range of group activities, including airline operations, dnata’s cargo and ground handling businesses and a wide range of commercial activities on the ground – from engineering to catering.  

The report’s aim is to understand the group’s environmental impact, as well as identifying opportunities to improve and capture best practice across the 68,000 strong workforce.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman and chief executive, Emirates Airline and Group, said: “This report illustrates our continuing efforts to improve our environmental efficiency, in the air and on the ground. We are pleased that the induction of new modern, more ecologically efficient aircraft helped to make an improvement in the fuel and emissions efficiency of our fleet.”

The report also highlighted that the group has doubled its total recycling volumes in the reporting period, to 10,697 tonnes, primarily due to the inclusion of a used cooking oil recycling programme for one of its subsidiaries, Alpha Catering.

Other highlights included Emirates Flight Catering's launch of one of the first programmes in the UAE for glass recycling; the dnata Baggage Services team's plan to purchase 50 electric vehicle tractors, which should improve air quality for airport ramp workers; and the group plans to award funds to one or more deserving organisations under its new “A Greener Tomorrow” environmental grant.

The report also included Emirates’ proposal to adopt a new measure of industry fuel efficiency to become an industry standard. The new standard, measured by tonne kilometre per litre (TK/L), will form the basis of reporting Emirates airline’s fuel efficiency next year, said the statement. - TradeArabia News Service