SriLankan Airlines ranked second in Asia, Asia-Pacific for Lowest Carbon Footprint

SriLankan Airlines being one of the forerunners in the Aviation-environment arena gained a worldwide recognition for its pioneering efforts when the prestigious ‘Business Traveler’ magazine ranked the airline second among airlines in the Asia and Asia-Pacific region for having the lowest carbon footprint recently.

The enormous region includes the Middle East, South Asia, the Far East and Asia-Pacific (Australasia), home to most of the world’s finest airlines. Business Traveler (www.businesstraveller.com) has given SriLankan an evaluation of 72.8, only slightly short of the 73.4 of the Taiwanese carrier Trans Asia Airways which is in first place. Globally, SriLankan is ranked 17th.

Key components which involved for this achievement are the collaborative efforts of all related divisions and the efficient fuel management practices, where every flight is monitored for optimum fuel efficiency. Among the best practices in use are flying the shortest routes to destinations, single-engine taxi for aircraft taxiing on the ground, and weight saving by using the most lightweight meal carts and other materials on board. Even the weight of magazines and newspapers on board is strictly managed. The fleet’s aircraft engines are also kept in optimum efficient working order, and aircraft are washed frequently in order to reduce air friction and drag. A high level of awareness is maintained among all of the airline’s staff, especially among pilots, cabin crew, flight dispatchers and other employees directly involved in the airline’s operations.

As far back as 2009, SriLankan created a stir when it became the first airline in Asia to launch ‘planet friendly flight’ a low carbon flight using efficient coordination and optimizing the operational resources. Other efforts include the use of e-tickets to reduce use of paper, and its ‘Flygreen’ initiative through which passengers can contribute towards a mini-hydro power project by which the airline offsets carbon emissions.