Aviation sustainability developments from around the world

The 41^st ICAO Assembly adopted a long-term global aspirational goal (LTAG) for international aviation of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 in support of the UNFCCC Paris Agreement’s temperature goal. This is a historic agreement that reinforces the leadership of ICAO on issues relating to international aviation and climate change.

The LTAG does not attribute specific obligations or commitments in the form of emissions reduction goals to individual States. Instead, it recognizes that each State’s special circumstances and respective capabilities (e.g. the level of development, maturity of aviation markets or national priorities of air transport development) will inform the ability of each State to contribute to the LTAG within its own national timeframe. Each State will contribute to achieving the goal in a socially, economically and environmentally sustainable manner and in accordance with its national circumstances.

Turkish Airlines continues its support for the development of Sustainable Aviation Fuels, which play a key role in reducing carbon emissions. Starting to actively use Sustainable Aviation Fuel during its operations as of 2022, Turkish Airlines emphasized the importance of the matter for the company by signing the Global SAF Declaration. The aim of the declaration is to completely decarbonize sustainable aviation fuels. Turkish Airlines plans to increase SAF usage to the highest levels possible consistent with technical, regulatory, safety and financial feasibility.

SWISS Airlines is the first passenger airline in the world to take advantage of the new AeroSHARK aircraft skin technology to further reduce the carbon dioxide emissions and the fuel consumption of its flight operations. All twelve of the airline’s Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will successively have the innovative riblet film (co-developed by Lufthansa Technik and chemicals and coatings manufacturer BASF) applied to their fuselage and engine nacelles. The resulting significant reduction in aerodynamic drag will make SWISS’s fleet more than one per cent more fuel-efficient, and this in turn will further reduce its carbon dioxide emissions.