(TITC) - According to Vietnam Airlines, this airline has officially participated in “The Sustainable Flight Challenge – TSFC” by SkyTeam Airline Alliance, with the first flight no. VN416 from Ha Noi to Seoul, Korea on 14th May. Activities are accompanied and monitored by the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) to raise public awareness, promote solutions to protect the environment, and respond to climate change for sustainable development.
Illustrative image (Source: Internet)
“The Sustainable Flight Challenge – TSFC” is the campaign aimed to stimulate sustainable development initiatives in the aviation sector. The campaign is initiated by Skyteam, a global airline alliance with members of major airlines around the world.
In this campaign, all the airlines will have a fair and square competition to operate the most environmentally friendly flight with the most sustainable development. Airlines are evaluated on 14 categories by an international panel of judges including experts and leaders from a variety of related fields. The winner will be honoured at the event in June 2022.
Not only raising the awareness of the public and encouraging creativity, it also contributes to spreading solutions and understanding about environmental protection and sustainable development in the aviation industry. Therefore, airlines can implement practical measures that help reduce the flight's impact on the environment and deliver measurable results.
Currently, “The Sustainable Flight Challenge – TSFC” has attracted the participation of 16 airlines from countries such as the USA, France, Netherlands, Spain, China, Republic of Korea, Vietnam, etc. On the first activity, airlines will participate by operating long-haul flights with distances of over 5,000 km, average routes from 1,500 to 5,000 km and evaluation of the efficiency of operation and environmental protection on these routes.
According to Mr. Tang The Cuong, Director General of the Department of Climate Change (DCC), under the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) commented: The campaign “The Sustainable Flight Challenge – TSFC” is an activity of practical significance towards environmental protection and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. “Vietnam is a developing nation, with constantly expanding transportation and logistics activities to meet the requirements of economic development. However, Vietnam is also one of the countries most affected by climate change. Facing the challenges of sustainable development, low-emission economic development towards the goal of net zero emissions by 2050, the efforts of major airlines such as Vietnam Airlines play a significant role in ensuring trade and infrastructure, and at the same time, contributing to minimising environmental impacts and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to realise Vietnam's sustainable economic development goals.
We will continue to supervise activities of Vietnam Airlines, in the aim towards environment-friendly, climate-friendly to ensure efficient and sustainable business operations. By then, raising awareness, perfecting the measures in environment protection, reducing the impact of climate change on the aviation sector in particular and other social-economic development activities in general”.
Vietnam Airlines participated in the middle distance with flight VN416 Hanoi - Seoul on 14th May. Passengers on this flight were welcome with a special gift, which were tote bags and environmental protection message cards manufactured from environmentally friendly materials. After the flight No. VN416 on 14th May, Vietnam Airlines operated a long-haul flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Melbourne (Australia) on 15th May. Only 5 airlines participate in long-haul flights and Vietnam Airlines is one of them.
Carrying the role of the national airlines, Vietnam Airlines is putting every effort to be the pioneer in satisfying and following strictly the requirements in environmental protection. Participating in “The Sustainable Flight Challenge – TSFC” is the continuous operation in the environmental protection measures that the airlines has taken for many years.
In recent years, Vietnam Airlines' air-crafts are constantly being upgraded, including Airbus A350, Boeing 787 and A321neo with new generation engines, helping to reduce 50% of emissions, 16% of fuel and 75% of noise compared to the old generation.
From 2019, Vietnam Airlines has reduced the usage of over 60 million plastic bags every year, by stopping the use of plastic bags to wrap supplies and items on the plane.
In the upcoming time, Vietnam Airlines will increase the replacement of many plastic cooking utensils with more environmentally friendly materials. Most notably, it is expected that from 1st July, Vietnam Airlines will use new porcelain dinnerware serving Business class. The kit is made of bone china (a safer type of porcelain) to increase durability, reduce weight by 10% compared to the old porcelain set, and contribute to reducing the load and saving fuel for the aircraft. It is estimated that this helps VNA reduce fuel consumption by 12 tons/year.
Tourism Information Technology Center
