748 Air Services plans start zero carbon emissions in January
748 Air Services is planning to reduce emissions by beginning a carbon offsetting flights early next year.
The 748 Air Services is planning to reduce emissions by beginning a carbon offsetting for all its domestic and international humanitarian schedule flights early next year.
According to the Air Services Head of Safety, and Carbon Emission Reduction Committee Member Mr Maurice Juma, part of the plan include investing in offsetting activities, and processes to compensate for an equal amount of carbon its aircraft will be emitted for a specified period.
The air service will from early January start measuring, reducing, monitoring and offsetting every carbon dioxide that it releases to the environment.
“This means that we will now go into the carbon trade market, and invest in programs that will take back all the carbon units emitted in our operations,” said 748 Air Services Head of Safety and Carbon Emission Reduction Committee Member,” Mr Juma said.
To ensure that the step bears fruits, emission data that is produced by the airline will be subjected to verification, and validation by qualified and approved independent verifiers.
The Airline Environmental Manager Mr George Oduor said that a fully-fledged environmental office, furnished with a data analyst has been set up to help monitor emissions, crunch and populate numbers from its full-scale Environmental Management System (EMS).
“We have an implementation plan that outlines top management’s commitment to environmental protection and prevention of pollution,” said 748 Air Services Environmental Manager,” Mr Oduor.
The office is currently evaluating environmental aspects such as air operations including emissions from aircraft engines and general waste on-flight as it deepens awareness creation among staff and stakeholders.
“This November, we plan to plant trees at the Kakamega forest as part of our plans to reduce carbon dioxide from the environment.”
The management says that a complete transition strategy and systems will be in place by end of the year, before engaging suppliers on the new direction the airline will be taking in 2023.
Among the reduction strategies the airline has implemented over the last year, include reducing fuel consumption from the time aircraft takes off, when airborne and during descending- by optimal flight planning and aircraft handling strategies provided by ICAO.
Climate champion
748 Air Services’ Captain Timothy Oruya, who is also a climate champion in aviation said before taking off, the crew has to sit down and do flight planning.
“In the quest to manage carbon emissions, the flight crew rely on the foreplanning of the trip from take-off to landing. You want to be airborne immediately without losing time and burning unnecessary fuel on the ground…Optimal flight planning enables pilots to reduce resistance brought about by headwinds and to be able to arrive at destinations using 60 percent power,” Captain Oruya.
