SriLankan looking to rule the blue skies with its green efforts
Monday, 16 September 2013 00:07
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SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier of Sri Lanka, staying true to its Green Vision, ‘To be a Planet Friendly Airline accomplishing sustainable and advantageous business development’, has initiated many programs to conserve environment by reducing the carbon footprint.
Its latest green initiative, the first in-house model biogas plant, situated in the Airline Centre, Katunayake was commissioned in June this year to coincide with the World Environment day. Implemented as a solution for the disposal of food waste, the biogas plant daily generates 12.5 kg of fuel which is equivalent to the capacity of one liquid petroleum cylinder. While the annual gas production is estimated at 4,500 kg, currently 30% of the energy requirement of the Airline Centre’s main cafeteria is being fulfilled by biogas.
The green team of SriLankan Airlines, the masterminds behind the national carrier’s green efforts, also introduced a waste water treatment plant at the engineering hangar and a solar tube system at the Engineering Module Shop with an annual saving of Rs 1 million, which earned the airline the silver award at the National Green Efficiency Awards Ceremony.
Having been the first carrier in South Asia to implement the green flight campaign named ‘Planet friendly flights’, the Airline takes forward its green legacy by implementing various programs to control carbon emissions while increasing fuel efficiency. This year, the Airline implemented RNAV (Required Navigation) / PBN (Perform Based Navigation) approaches on some of the routes to enhance fuel efficiency with an average saving of 500 kg of fuel per flight. It also initiated a zero fuel weight monitoring mechanism across the network to minimise variances in fuel weight thereby reducing extra fuel uplift.
The Airline last year switched to ‘I-pad Electronic Flying’ ( IEF) from bulky mandatory paper manuals, to reduce weight on-board and paper clutter in the cockpit thereby enhancing fuel efficiency, accuracy and safety of operations.
It is also working closely with the Airport and Aviation Authority to reduce carbon emissions during aircraft ground movements.
