Every link of the aviation supply chain is committed to making the industry greener and more sustainable. I’ve written many times before about the great advocacy of the Council on Sustainable Aviation Fuels Accountability (CoSAFA) and the aviation industry’s ambitions regarding its carbon footprint, but if we’re serious about decarbonizing aviation, one of the first stumbling blocks we need to overcome is to make sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) accessible and affordable all over the world. As of now, the technologies and infrastructures needed to make SAF widely available are not developed enough, and prices are not competitive. Neither the producer nor the consumer should be left with the cost burden… What we need to take the decarbonization of aviation to the next level is global political leaders and commercial and manufacturing sector collaboration.
In a historic move, Heathrow recently incorporated sustainable aviation fuels into its operations as part of its aim to become one of the world’s most sustainable airports. 58% of airlines at the London airport have already committed to 10% SAF usage by 2030. What’s additionally impressive is how the SAF available at Heathrow is made. HEFA (Hydrotreated Esters and Fatty Acids) is made from cooking oils, other fatty waste from the food processing industry, and vegetable oils. Understanding that political will is required, Heathrow is calling on the UK Government to set escalating mandates that require a minimum of 10 percent SAF use by airlines by 2030, increasing to at least 50 percent by 2050.
International governments need to push commercial incentives to encourage investment and stimulate demand. We are already seeing this happen. This is precisely what the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition was designed to do: provide a global mechanism for decision-makers and public leaders, both across and beyond the aviation value chain, to align on a transition to sustainable aviation fuels to ensure carbon-neutral flight is achieved. Similarly, according to Eurocontrol, the EU Commission’s ReFuelEU Aviation initiative is considering a SAF mandate requiring jet fuel suppliers at EU airports to blend an increasing percentage of SAF into their fuel from 2025. Looking east to Asia and recently, the CST has brought together a community of public and private institutions in India and established a specific goal to transport 100 million domestic passengers on at least a 10% SAF blend by 2030.
Before COVID-19 stalled international travel, aviation was responsible for 2-3% of overall global emissions, and, today, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects significant growth in air travel for the rest of the decade. I hope that with government intervention and encouragement, we will see much of this travel being wonderfully green.
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In the final UAS Forward Discussion at EBACE, we put the focus on charter operations, the relationship between charter brokers and operators, and how this dynamic will continue to evolve in the future. We were delighted to welcome some of the industry’s outstanding charter experts representing both brokers and large and small operators. They were Julie Black of Hunt and Palmer, Bernhard Fragner of Globe Air, Fadi Al Samad of Elit'Avia, and Alex Durand of SaxonAir. We were also happy to welcome the European Business Aviation Association’s (EBAA’s) Paul Walsh as moderator. As well as giving a great insight into the current state of the charter market globally, the panel discussion also explored whether smaller operators could compete with the rise of the mega operator.
Omar Hosari | - 07/15/2022
Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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