Greener flying took off over the Christmas holidays in the form of a single-use plastic-free flight from Portugal’s coastal capital of Lisbon to Brazil’s northeastern city of Natal.
The first of four plastic-free flights was operated on Boxing Day by Hi Fly, an aircraft leasing company hoping to be the first plastic-free airline before 2020.
On board the trial trip, passengers saw their plastic spoons, knives, forks, cups, sick bags, dishes, butter pots, soft drink bottles and toothbrushes replaced with bamboo or easily compostable paper packaging.
There was not one bit of single-use plastic to be found on the aircraft, CTV News reported.
Extremely proud of the achievement, Hi Fly’s President Paulo Mirpuri said the historic service underlines the airline’s commitment to greener flying and becoming the world’s first “plastic free carrier within 12 months”.
“Our corporate mission is based around sustainability and we work hand in glove with the Mirpuri Foundation to make sure that our corporate practices match our wider responsibilities to the planet.”
Paulo Mirpuri, Hi Fly President
Mirpuri continued, saying that the four initial test flights will help trial various plastic alternatives in a real-world environment.
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