Pretoria - South African Airways (SAA) has become one of the first six airlines in the world to achieve IATA (International Air Transport Association) Environmental Assessment Stage 1 status.
"We are very proud of being one of six global airlines to achieve IEnVA Stage 1 status. As part of SAA's Group Environment Strategy and in SAA's continuous effort to become one of the world's greenest airlines, our customers can fly SAA assured that we are taking great steps to establish ourselves as a market leader when it comes to environmentally friendly operations, efficient aircraft, green buildings and environmentally conscious employees," SAA spokesperson Tlali Tlali said on Sunday.
This comes after the association embarked on the IATA Environmental Assessment (IENvA) which is a two-year initiative to develop and establish an environmental standard and environmental management system for over 240 IATA member airlines.
The aim of the two-year initiative is to create a minimum and recommended standard for airlines in areas such as general recycling, on-board recycling, efficient flight and airport operations, limiting and reducing carbon emissions, general energy efficiency as well as environmentally conscious procurement procedures.
The national carrier was one of the six airlines invited by IATA to participate in the programme said IEnVA’s Paul Steele.
“I am delighted to announce that SAA has satisfied the independent assessors and passed the IATA Environmental Assessment Stage 1. IEnVA is the first environmental management system applied to the aviation sector and enables an airline to improve its environmental management and follow best environmental practice. This makes SAA airline one of the world’s leading carriers in the areas of environmental responsibility and sustainability,” he said.
Among South Africa’s environmental goals are striving for the most efficient operations, working towards minimising and preventing pollution and complying with applicable regulations and other requirements.
SAA serves 26 destinations across the continent as well as major destinations within South Africa. - SAnews.gov.za
