Sustainability

The aviation industry is rapidly moving to adopt more sustainable options with a strong focus on reducing carbon emissions.

The Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has adopted a collective long-term global aspirational goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

Airways is committed to playing its part in supporting sustainable aviation both within our own organisation and by supporting the wider aviation industry to achieve its goals.

In late 2022, Airways was confirmed as a member of the Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa (SAA) Leadership Group – a public-private partnership that will provide advice and coordination to accelerate the decarbonisation of Aotearoa’s aviation sector.

For a number of years, Airways has been at the forefront of developing and deploying procedures and technologies that reduce the environmental footprint of the aviation industry. Our introduction of advanced navigation procedures and intelligent flow management tools has improved the efficiency of flight paths and reduced aircraft fuel burn and carbon emissions, as well as enhancing overall safety. In FY23 alone, flight track miles savings amounted to 792,248 NM, leading to a reduction of 14,849 k/Tn of carbon. In December 2022, we continued this work with the implementation of the Divergent Missed Approach Protection System (DMAPS) for Wellington Airport. This followed the successful implementation of DMAPS at Christchurch Airport in 2021.

The DMAPS procedures safely manage an approaching aircraft that is unable to land for any reason, by reducing complexity and uncertainty, in line with the global move towards safety-by-design instrument flight procedures. They also significantly reduce delays, as well as fuel burn and the associated carbon emissions.