In celebration of Earth Day yesterday, and to raise awareness about the harmful effects of plastic pollution, Etihad Airways pioneered the very first single-use plastic-free flight in the region.
Flight EY484 between Abu Dhabi and Brisbane touched town in the Queensland capital on Earth Day after its historic eco-friendly journey.
Among the green changes were sustainable amenity kits, eco-plush toys for kids, eco-thread blankets and edible coffee cups.
All cups, cutlery, dishes, headset bags, cart seals and toothbrushes were also be replaced with cleaner alternatives.
Etihad estimates that the ground-breaking flight prevented some 50 kilograms of plastic from clogging up a landfill. HATS OFF TO THE UAE CARRIER.
So will the changes stick? Well, Etihad has an existing pledge to reduce single-use plastic usage across the entire organisation by 80% in the next three years.
The airline also aims to have 20% of its goal achieved by 1 June 2019 and expects that by the end of the year, it will have removed 100 tonnes of single-use plastics from inflight services.
Etihad was the second airline to operate an entirely green service after Portugal’s Hi Fly flew the world’s first single-use plastic-free flight from Lisbon to Natal in Brazil over Boxing Day last year.
- READ: Etihad is giving two free nights to anyone who stops-over in Abu Dhabi
- READ: Etihad combats jet lag with new app
- READ: Etihad introduces ‘bid for upgrade’ using Guest Miles