Qatar Airways yields significant gain from fuel efficiency and carbon reduction

January 8, 2018: Taking another giant stride towards forward environmental sustainability, Qatar Airways has demonstrated rapid growth during 2016-17, with 14 percent more passenger and cargo flights carrying additional passengers, adding 10 new routes to its global network, and growing its fleet from 182 to 196 aircraft during the 12 month period ending 31 March 2017.

In its recently published sustainability report (2016-17), Qatar Airways has offered a comprehensive review of its extensive commitment towards environmental sustainability and carbon reduction.

Hamad International Airport exhibited similar growth in 2016-17, which served 38.2 million passengers, managed 250,419 aircraft movements and handled 1.8 million tonnes of cargo.

Besides the tremendous growth through its commitment towards environmental policy and objectives, Qatar Airways has demonstrated improvement in environmental performance across its business interests, including airline and airport operations, catering services, retail outlets and hotels.

Qatar Airways has continued to improve its use of aviation fuel, making the airline operations 2.5 percent more carbon efficient than the previous year. It also helped the airline build on the considerable efficiency gains reported in 2015-16.

Its ongoing fuel optimisation programme has focused on reducing weight, route optimisation, aircraft operations on the ground and technical performance.

During this period, the airport achieved an 11.9 percent improvement in carbon efficiency per passenger, compared to the previous year. It also became the first airport in the Gulf Co-operation Council to achieve Level-3 of Airports Council International's carbon accreditation programme, and has set a new target to improve its carbon efficiency per passenger by 30 per cent before 2030.

Qatar Airways group chief executive, Akbar Al Baker said: “Our environmental performance demonstrate that Qatar Airways takes its leadership role in the international aviation community very seriously. We lead by examples in environmental matter, particularly the management of our carbon emissions and the protection of wildlife and endangered species. As a global airline serving over 150 destinations across six continents, every corner of the globe is important to us. We are committed to our own sustainability journey as well as to contribute to the aviation industry's target of carbon-neutral growth from 2020.”

The sustainability report provide several examples of its environmental commitment in managing network growth, airport operations, waste management, water conservation, and protecting endangered wildlife.

Qatar Airways continues its dedication to the global fight against the illegal trade in endangered wildlife, and this year it developed plans to improve detection within its cargo and passenger network. It also continues to collaborate with its peers, international bodies and regulatory authorities to tackle this important issue at the industry level.

The report outlines Qatar Airways Group%u2018s plans for environmental improvement to ensure sustainable growth across its operations. It reveals how the careful implementation of the principles and the processes of its environmental management systems throughout the group are embedding a culture of environmental responsibility amongst its workforce. This is paramount as the airline continues its robust growth trajectory.