Dubai: A new drywash cleaning programme introduced by Emirates airline in early 2016 is saving up to 11 million litres of water every year to clean its fleet of more than 260 aircraft, said the airline to mark World Environment Day on Monday.
From its Dubai headquarters located in the heart of a desert city, the airline said its aircraft drywash systems uses “little to no water” as compared to conventional washing regimens that consume thousands of litres per wash.
Ahmad Safa, Emirates Senior Vice President — Engineering Support Services, told Gulf News that the airline is doing everything in its power to conserve water as a good sustainable environmental practice.
“Emirates is very conscious of our responsibility towards the environment. We are constantly looking at ways through which we can reduce the impact our operations have on the environment. Using the aircraft drywash technique helps us save millions of litres of water every year and this is important for a number of reasons — the most important being that water is a limited environmental resource and that we have to be careful in its usage,” said Safa.
“By implementing water-saving techniques we are building on our cumulative efforts across various business divisions to reduce our environmental footprint. “
Over the years, the industry standard to clean aircraft using pressurised water between four to five times every year uses on average more than 11,300 litres of water to clean one Airbus A380 aircraft and more than 9,500 litres of water to clean a Boeing 777 aircraft every time.
To forego the need to spray wash the large fuselages and wings of its aircraft, Emirates since early last year has introduced a liquid cleaner that it applies manually and then allows to dry.
Similar to a car wax, the dried film is then wiped off and polished by up to 15 staff over a 12-hour cleaning session for the A380 and nine hours for the smaller Boeing 777 body.
“We certainly hope that it will encourage everyone to carefully consider the environmental impact of their actions- not just large businesses but also at an individual level. Every little step counts,” said Safa.
Using a dry wash also allows other maintenance work to be done on the plane at the same time because sensitive parts of the plane are not exposed to water.
Students learn green values
Dubai: Students in Dubai are learning the importance of water conservation on World Environment Day through different education awareness sessions hosted by green advocacy groups.
Surge, an organisation encouraging mindful water consumption in the UAE, was expected on Monday to encourage year three students attending Raffles World Academy in Umm Suqeim, Dubai the value of water conservation.
Linda Merieau, Director of Education Programmes at Surge, said volunteers will conduct a four- hour interactive experience to raise water conscious citizens in the UAE.
“Our goal is to contribute to a culture that cares about its natural resources, feels responsible and practices sustainable daily habits to preserve its water resources. We are excited to work with the children at Raffles World Academy to inspire them to take action and change their daily habits. ”
Emirates Environmental Group, meanwhile, said that its Environmental Drawing Competition drew 1094 entries from 262 schools with a total participation of over 50,000 students from across the UAE.
Habiba Al Marashi, Chairperson of Emirates Environmental Group, said she was pleased with the participation levels to support World Environmental Day.
“By creating a platform through which students can articulate their passion for the environment, we are certain that the emotions that they are expressing in their art about nature and the planet will remain strong within them right into their adulthood.”
