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Dubai / WAM
On the occasion of World Environment Day, Emirates is showcasing an environmentally friendly aircraft cleaning technique that has enabled the airline to save millions of litres of water every year.
The ‘aircraft drywash’ technique, uses little or no water in cleaning the aircraft, which is in contrast to conventional methods which typically use thousands of litres of water per wash, the company said to mark the international day.
Traditionally, aircraft are cleaned by using highly pressurised water between four to five times every year. However, on an average this technique uses more than 11,300 litres of water to clean an Airbus A380 aircraft and more than 9,500 litres of water to clean a Boeing 777 aircraft.
Emirates says that with the drywash technique, it saves over 11 million litres of water every year. Additionally, the waterless aircraft wash technique ensures that the aircraft remains cleaner for a longer period of time, thereby reducing the number of times the aircraft has to be washed to about three times a year, and also reducing the aircraft’s fuel consumption because of less accumulation of dirt.
Emirates also said that in the engineering and maintenance area, it uses an innovative foam wash technique for cleaning aircraft engines that allows the airline to save about 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year across its fleet. Other environmentally aware initiatives include the installation of a one megawatt array of solar photo voltaic panels at the state of the art Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre in Dubai.
The panels generate over 1,800 megawatt-hours of electricity every year, helping save around 800 tonnes in carbon dioxide emissions. Emirates Engineering has also installed energy saving LED lights triggered by motion sensors, substantially reducing electricity consumption.
In the inflight products area, Emirates has introduced sustainable blankets, produced from 100 percent recycled plastic bottles. Using patented ecoTHREAD technology, each blanket is made from 28 recycled plastic bottles. It is estimated that by the end of 2019, these blankets would have rescued 88 million plastic bottles from landfills.
Through its ‘A Greener Tomorrow’ programme, Emirates has provided funding to non-profit organisations across the world who work to conserve and safeguard their local environments. Funds for the initiative are raised entirely through the Emirates Group’s internal
recycling programmes.