Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air aims to reduce carbon emissions and waste through key initiatives such as electronic ticketing and purchase of new fuel-efficient aircraft, said its top official.

Gulf Air CEO Samer Majali, while giving his address at the Rotary Club, said such measures have already had significant impact.

'Some of the other initiatives include shutting down unnecessary engines when taxiing on the ground and reducing unnecessary weight on board. The result, in the past year, has been saving over 10,000 tonnes in carbon emissions,' he noted.

E-ticketing, introduced in 2005, has dramatically reduced Gulf Air’s paper waste while the airline is also committed to a “recycle and reuse” campaign with various waste-saving initiatives.

Majali said, 'Beyond E-ticketing which saves airlines close to BD1.34billion ($3 billion) annually, we execute many of our customer interfaces electronically and all of the airline’s administrative functions are enabled with minimal paper usage within the Gulf Air team and the use of thin paper for flight manuals.”

Furthermore, the purchase of new fuel-efficient aircraft has reduced the average age of the Gulf Air fleet from 12 years in 2009 to 5.7 years with positive effects on the environment as a result.

“We have also introduced a number of initiatives internally such as establishing a fuel management committee to identify ways to optimize and save fuel, an “Every Saving Counts” campaign in which staff are encouraged to design cost and fuel-saving initiatives with monthly awards for the best concepts,” he added.

In addition to the environmental initiatives, Gulf Air joined a bio-fuels initiative in 2009 and partnered with the United Nations Development Programme earlier this year to mark World Environment Day.

Majali stressed the importance of reducing carbon emissions citing the airline industry’s current contribution of man-made carbon dioxide emissions (2 per cent).

While aviation generates 29 million jobs worldwide and provides approximately 8 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product, its environmental impact, he said, must also continue to be addressed.

The Rotary Club of Bahrain, Adliya, holds regular meetings in Bahrain. The most recent was held at the Elite Hotel and Spa.-TradeArabia News Service