TIME TO TAMP DOWN IN-FLIGHT WASTE
AIRLINES in middle east are generating over 3.6 million metric tonnes of cabin and catering waste annually, with 65 per cent being food and beverages, according to an audit carried out by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in collaboration with the Aviation Sustainability Forum (ASF). The untouched meals account for 18 per cent of all waste. This waste is largely not recycled putting pressure on the environment. According to an aviation expert, for a passenger flight landing at the Muscat International Airport would have been prepared, the airline, depending upon the load capacity, prepared at least 300 meals, out which 50 are rejected by the passengers while the rest is half eaten and dumped unrecycled. IATA statistics show that airlines around the world generated 5.2 million tonnes of waste last year, the majority of which is food. If concrete measures are not taken, it may reach 10 million tonnes annually by 2030. In the Gulf region alone, as many as 180,000 meals are prepared by the catering facility of a leading airline to service its more than 400 daily flights around the globe. Imagine the impact on the environment, if 25 per cent of the food is rejected by passengers outright and 50 per cent half eaten. Nonetheless, the budget airlines and no-frills carriers are far away from this mammoth wastage of food because they carry limited food. A spokesperson of Salamair, Oman’s low-cost carrier said that the carrier loads what has been pre-ordered or the amount of food that is anticipated to sell. Additionally, the carrier uses items with longer shelf life and keeps reviewing the consumption to adjust what the carrier loads in order to reduce wastage. He further said that it is the responsibility of the carriers to spread awareness among the passengers not to waste food when millions go hungry every day. They need to spare no stones unturned in making the airlines more waste efficient and produce less waste. One such solution is to make pre-ordering meals mandatory which has obvious advantages as it lowers cost and weight onboard that can be translated into lower fuel burn resulting in less carbon emissions. One silver lining at the end of the tunnel is the launch of a waste audit in September 2024. The data will guide the airline industry and policymakers on steps to reduce the levels of waste and identify opportunities for reuse and recycling. Previous IATA research had identified the lack of a standardised methodology with respect to conducting cabin waste audits. This audit is expected to help solve these issues and enable the sector to demonstrate progress towards waste reduction and improve recycling.