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WIZZ AIR SIGNS MOU WITH AIRBUS ON HYDROGEN-POWERED AIRCRAFT
Dubai International airport to divert 60 per cent of waste from landfills The programme by Dubai Airports hopes to achieve its target by the middle of next year
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new waste management initiative will help divert 60 per cent of all waste from Dubai International (DXB) airport away from landfills by the middle of 2023. As part of the new programme, Dubai Airports has implemented a food waste treatment plan which will capture and compost over 2,000 tonnes of food waste annually from F&B outlets, lounges and hotels across all its terminals and concourses. Decomposing food waste in landfills results in the emission of methane gas which is 72 times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide. The new food waste plan was created in partnership with Dubai Airports’ waste management partner Beeah Group. A special high-tech biodigester compost system installed in multiple locations across DXB will increase the speed at which food waste breaks down and becomes reusable compost and clean wastewater. The waste diversion strategy aims to identify economic and environmentally-friendly methods to capture, treat and recycle waste. To date, DXB has managed more than a 40 per cent reduction in waste. A special initiative already captures 100 per cent of all cooking oil used in the airport’s F&B outlets and converts it to biodiesel fuel.
2,000 TONNES
The amount of food waste annually that DXB aims to capture from across its terminals and concourses
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Wizz Air has signed an MoU with Airbus to explore the potential for efficient, ultra-low-cost hydrogen-powered aircraft operations. The MoU will identify both operational and infrastructure opportunities and challenges of hydrogen aircraft. Both Wizz Air and Airbus will study the impact of hydrogen models on Wizz Air’s fleet, operations and infrastructure, including its network, scheduling, ground bases and airports, by considering specific aircraft characteristics, such as achievable range and refuelling time. Wizz claims that it operates at the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per passenger kilometre amongst all competitor airlines. In November 2021, it signed an agreement with Airbus for the purchase of a further 102 A321 aircraft, comprising 75 A321 neo and 27 Airbus A321XLR aircraft. With the new order, Wizz Air’s delivery backlog comprises a firm order for 34 A320 neo, 240 A321 neo and 47 A321XLR aircraft, plus the additional order for 15 A321 neo and purchase rights for 75 A321 neo aeroplanes.
Of all cooking oil used in airport’s F&B outlets is already captured and converted to biodiesel fuel
VFS GLOBAL OUTLINES SUSTAINABILITY PLANS VFS Global, has published its Integrated Report last month. It covered some of the organisation’s major accomplishments in 2021 across several areas including diversity, equity and inclusion, employee empowerment, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and community empowerment. The report found that 52 per cent of VFS Global’s electricity usage was covered by renewable energy. More than 1,500 trees were planted in India and the UAE, thereby resulting in a carbon dioxide sequestering of 9.2 tonnes in 2021. Support of the Kolar bio-gas project, which eliminates approximately 4.5 tonnes of firewood usage (per household), also enabled the offsetting of 73,429 tonnes of total carbon dioxide emissions last year for VFS’ business-related travel. Additionally, VFS Global will introduce a Climate Change and Comprehensive School Safety education curriculum for grades 3-10 students across over 45,000 schools in India.
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