Etihad pioneers eco-flying

As the world grows daily in awareness domains, sustainability is a word we see frequently now. Sustainability is easiest understood as smarter ways to fulfilling our needs without compromising the needs of future generations, while ensuring a balance between economic growth, environmental care and social well-being.

A holistic approach to environmental conservation, airlines are the last businesses one would think could innovate approaches to cut down on carbon emissions. Aviation is an industry founded with futuristic visions, cutting-edge technology, autonomous devices and ultralight materials.

Emissions from aircrafts are a significant contributor to climate change. Airplanes burn fossil fuel, which not only releases carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the air, but also has strong warming non-CO2 effects due to nitrogen oxides (NOx). Everyone has seen contrails; the vapour trails and cloud formation triggered by the altitude at which aircrafts operate. We see it like white cloud lines left in the wake of an airplane, and which dissipates in a matter of hours.

What we don't know about contrails is that there is new research showing that these condensation trails (contrails) from aircraft exhaust are playing a significant role in global warming. Like regular clouds, contrail clouds trap heat radiating from the earth’s surface, causing warming in the air below.

Aircraft emissions are rising up the global climate agendas. With renewable energy taking over fossil fuels in power generation, and the rise of electric cars, the continued surge in flights is increasingly seen as potentially the worst future threat to the climate, because there are as yet not enough carbon-free replacement technologies or international regulations to bring down emissions on a global scale.

At the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) annual general meeting in October 2021, participating airlines pledged net-zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2050, bringing the air transport industry in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.

Etihad had already committed to its carbon emission reduction goals almost two years before the IATA pledge. Apart from moving on to sustainable fuels and cutting down on single use plastics, Etihad Airways had joined forces with SATAVIA, a data analytics and AI company based in Cambridge, UK, helping the aviation industry to make flying smarter and greener and finding solutions to the contrail issues. Satavia’s contrail prevention platform is known as DECISIONX:NETZERO.

Satavia’s DECISIONX:NETZERO, is a smart navigation system that forecasts atmospheric conditions at multiple flight levels and optimises operator flight plans to avoid contrail-forming regions. In October 2021, SATAVIA, Etihad Airways and Boeing proved this by conducting a ground-breaking commercial flight, the ‘EY20 Sustainable Flight’, that avoided over 64 tonnes of carbon dioxide via contrail prevention.

Etihad has also invested in modern and fuel-efficient, eco-friendly aircrafts, retiring their less-efficient planes. According to the Etihad Airways web domain, 37% of their flights are already serviced by electric tractors, and their entire fleet uses ‘E-Tech Logs’, which means they even use less paper. This year, in May 2022, Etihad Airways has carried out the world’s most intensive sustainable flight-testing programme, completing 42 eco-flights over a five-day period.

Etihad operated flights also use an eco-approach for taxiing on the ground, shutting down a single engine of the aircraft upon landing. This allows most of the ground movements to be carried out via the power of one engine and the process can reduce carbon emissions produced by up to 40 per cent.

Other technologies seen on the Etihad eco-flights include using variable speeds when cruising to help save fuel and reducing reliance on flaps when landing on sufficiently long runways. This reduces drag and requires less fuel consumption during the approach phase. It also reduces noise disturbance near airports and results in around 30 kilograms of fuel saving for each approach.

While some environmentalists find the notion of sustainable flying comedic, it is fast becoming a reality. Etihad Airways have proven that. Sure, cutting carbon emissions to zero and still flying is a faraway dream yet, but it is quite enough for us regular folk to know that the global aviation industry is at least attempting to reduce their carbon emissions.

Going green often requires a big investment in money; may it be solar powering your house or desalinating salt water for hydrogen extraction. The same issue applies to aviation. Etihad is a popular and fully developed airline, they don't have many cost feasibility issues like small airlines do.

If a small airline like Maldivian, operating on tiny runways, and in one of the world’s busiest airports, were to go green, there are several factors they need to consider and develop with the organisation. Going green for Maldivian Airline would require infrastructural improvements, operational advancements, and technological development, including sustainable aviation fuels. Not to mention investing, executing and training all staff in adapting to the greener changes, or even the hire of an advanced navigational team.

While Maldivian cannot sit beside Etihad right away, there are simple things we could do to reduce our impact on our environment when we choose to fly. Aviation is responsible for roughly two percent of global carbon emissions.

With an increasing number of local airports being built all over the nation, and the subsidised ticketing provided by Maldivian, we tend to fly at every available opportunity. Our geographical isolation facilitates all the frequent flights that seem to take off every 15 minutes from the Velana International Airport (VIA) alone; we Maldivians, who are sinking live as we watch, need to feel more caution than any other nation.

Few things Maldivian should contemplate:

From using branded reusable drinking bottles to partnering up with Eco-Hotels and Green Transportation Providers, there are many ways Maldivian can still look up to Etihad and inspire the whole of South Asia with our remarkable foresight and innovation.