India is grappling with a critical need for sustainable innovation as it contends with escalating environmental challenges. The urgency for eco-friendly practices becomes more pronounced in various sectors, including the aviation industry, a substantial contributor to carbon emissions.
In this interview with TheCSRUniverse, Mr. Sanjay Gupta, CEO of Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt. Ltd (AISATS) discusses the company's commitment to sustainability in the Indian aviation sector. He sheds light on AISATS's approach to incorporating sustainability into its operations, emphasizing eco-friendly technologies and practices that aim to address the environmental impact of aviation. The interview touches upon the company's initiatives, such as AeroWash Robotic Dry Wash and Solar-Powered Boarding Ramps, reflecting the broader industry need for innovative solutions that align with sustainability goals.
AISATS's contributions to environmental sustainability in international airports across India since its inception in 2008 are explored in the interview. Mr. Gupta underscores the company's conscientious efforts to systematically integrate sustainability into its processes, work ethic, and network. The conversation navigates through the launch of AeroWash, an eco-friendly cleaning service, and its strategic alignment with AISATS's long-term vision for airport services
Read the full interview for comprehensive insights into AISATS's sustainability initiatives and their implications on the aviation sector:
Q. Could you provide insights into AISATS's commitment to sustainability and its various initiatives to enhance environmental practices in the aviation sector in India? What sustainability measures and eco-friendly technologies does AISATS employ to achieve its environmental goals in the aviation industry?
A. We place sustainability at the core of our business and our long-term growth plans. Incorporating sustainable practices into our airport operations propels us to use our resources innovatively so that we can create value for our airline customers and their passengers while simultaneously caring for our planet. Our approach is to situate sustainability at the heart of our business and minimize our current and future impact on the environment.
This starts with introducing ecofriendly infrastructure across all our operational touchpoints to reduce our carbon footprint and contribute towards India’s 2030 decarbonization goals. Introducing and building this ecofriendly infrastructure is very much a work in progress but we have made headway by introducing services such as:
1. AeroWash Robotic Dry Wash service
2. Solar-Powered Boarding Ramps
3. Electric Passenger Coaches
4. Solar-powered Ground Processing Units (GPUs)
5. Solar Lighting Towers (utilized for flood lights and carpet cleaning machines during nightly aircraft cleanings).
We have even recycled a scrapped engine/manual crane into an Aircraft Mock-up to facilitate trainings for our ground service equipment (GSE) operators, helping them learn how to align/dock equipment safely by the aircraft.
We look at every aspect of our operations as an opportunity to conserve resources and our team has been very innovative in their solutions.
Q. How has AISATS been contributing to environmental sustainability in international airports across India since its inception in 2008?
A. As India’s leading airport services management company, AISATS has always been cognizant of the fact that the scale of our operations has an impact on the environment. Since our inception in 2010, we have always determined that managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities is essential to our future, sustainable economic prosperity and the health of our planet. The initiatives we have mentioned above, and the ones we intend to develop in the future are organized under the principle of smart infrastructure and we integrate that principle into all our processes, our work ethic and our network. We believe this is the key in making sustainability central to our business, partnering with stakeholders for collaborative advantages, driving innovation and technology adoptions, achieving transparency in our sustainability goals and minimizing our negative impact on the environment.
Q. What were the key reasons for the launch of the AeroWash service, and how does it align with AISATS's long-term vision for airport services?
A. AISATS is the first and only ground handler in India to provide this eco-friendly cleaning service to its airline customers. This is part of AISATS’s brand promise that seeks to provide customers airlines with innovative airport solutions in a sustainable manner. We actively listened to the challenges faced by our client airlines (when it comes to cleaning the fuselage) and their requirements. An aircraft exterior with areas of dirt and mud can create a turbulent airflow across the fuselage thus increasing the aircraft’s fuel consumption. It can also negatively impact the impressions of the business and leisure class passengers who choose to fly that airline.
Our customer airlines were seeking an aircraft exterior cleaning solution that was both cost-effective, gave superior cleaning finish results, reduced aircraft downtime and was environmentally sustainable. We introduced AeroWash because it addresses an important pain point for our airlines and provides them with a solution that meets their needs and requirements.
Technologies such as AeroWash are the way of the future, and it aligns with our long-term vision that cost-effective ground operations and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. The aviation industry is being asked to reduce its impact on the environment while scaling up its operations, managing costs and boosting profitability. AeroWashis one such initiative that provides a high-tech solution to the needs of the industry and is in line with the modern aviation age.
Q. What has been the reception of AeroWash within the Indian aviation industry, and how has it influenced aircraft exterior cleaning standards and other measurable effects in areas like fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, and operational efficiency for airlines since its introduction?
A. The Indian aviation industry has been very receptive to AeroWash and we have been overwhelmed by the positive reviews from our customer airlines, inspite of the fact that AeroWash is still very much a new cleaning technology. We are optimistic that despite its novelty, AeroWash will very quickly set new benchmarks in aircraft exterior cleaning standards, not just in India but across the world.
AeroWash facilitates dramatic savings in manhours and resources in one fell swoop. One AeroWash cleaning takes 2 hours as opposed to 4.5 hours for manual cleaning. It also saves 350 litres of water per wash (for narrow body aircrafts) compared to manual methods. What’s more, it uses a 100% plant-based cleaner, free of petroleum derivatives or chemical additives. The cleaner is 100% biodegradable, has zero volatile organic compounds (VOC) and poses zero health hazards for our staff. Hence, no need for any personal protective equipment (PPE). All this helps airlines save 41 kg of ATF per flight thus bringing down their fuel costs and reducing aircraft aerodynamic drag.
AeroWash is a fresh approach to aircraft exterior cleaning, and it leads the pack in catering to the sustainability needs of the aviation industry.
Q. What safety measures are in place to ensure the secure operation of the AeroWash service for both aircraft and equipment operators?
A. AeroWash has an automatic distance and angle adjustment feature and is equipped with alarm indicators and safety sensors that ensure the machine operates at a safe distance from the aircraft and the operators. Also, the cleaner is 100% biodegradable with no volatile or organic compounds thus negating the need for personal protective equipment (PPE) as it poses zero health hazards for our staff.
Q. What is the potential long-term impact of AeroWash and similar technologies on the overall sustainability and environmental practices within the Indian aviation sector?
A. As an industry, aviation is at a crossroads. To cope with future demand, it must cater to the growth in passenger travel and scale up its operations while reducing costs and its impact on the environment. AeroWash and similar technologies can help the industry efficiently reduce manpower requirements, conserve resources, reduce costs and ultimately make the industry more compatible with India’s 2030 decarbonization targets in the long term. The trend in aircraft exterior cleaning leans towards automated systems that conserve resources and dramatically reduce aircraft turnaround time. With AeroWash, the industry has an opportunity to transition to a next-gen technology which will save water, conserve fuel, reduce aircraft downtime and save a huge amount of money.
Q. Could you share information on AISATS's other notable sustainability initiatives, such as solar-powered passenger ramp bridges and electric buses?
A. The AISATS Solar-Powered Passenger Boarding Ramp (designed in-house) provides a safe, streamlined, dignified and carbon-free boarding and disembarkation experience for elderly passengers, families with children and disabled passengers. For many passengers with reduced mobility, boarding and disembarking through airstairs is an uncomfortable and time-consuming experience. Useful during the rains and peak summer hours, our passenger boarding ramp improves passenger flow times, improves safety, increases operational efficiency and reduces delays all while reducing our carbon footprint. It is a perfect example of how we can combine sustainability and passenger comfort in one initiative.
We have also introduced electric passenger coaches at Bangalore Airport for our inter-terminal shuttle services. The simplicity of a battery-operated passenger coach makes it a compelling choice and the comfort it offers our passengers makes it a smart long-term solution for passenger mobility between terminals and on the tarmac. Our electric coaches are safe and reliable; they offer quiet and smooth rides that allow passengers to relax and have easy conversations. They also significantly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, reduce our maintenance costs and improve the air quality at the airport. Electric coaches are the way of the future and the benefit they bring to all stakeholders will only further enhance their success.
Q. Has AISATS explored collaborations with other airlines or industry players to expand the use of AeroWash or similar eco-friendly technologies in aviation and potentially set new industry standards for sustainability through international partnerships? How can such collaborative mechanisms expedite the efforts of the organisation?
A. Our customer airlines and other business partners have been very receptive to our sustainable initiatives such as AeroWash, Solar-Powered Boarding Ramp, Electric Passenger Buses etc. and we are always looking for opportunities to collaborate on, both domestic and international. Such collaborations can be an enriching experience as they help us reach a broader audience and showcase our commitment to sustainability within the aviation industry. Our business partners are and can be great advocates for our sustainability goals, and the more we collaborate with them the faster we reach our green goals.
Q. What are AISATS's strategic plans for the future, particularly concerning the growth and utilization of innovative solutions like AeroWash in the Indian aviation sector to advance environmental sustainability, and what role does AISATS see itself playing in shaping the future standards for the industry?
A. AISATS’s sustainability initiatives are all in service to help reduce the aviation industry’s carbon footprint. Strategically, we seek to reduce our carbon emissions, optimize our ground handling processes, collaborate with our business partners on green initiatives and invest in training and development to help achieve that larger goal. AeroWash and our other sustainable initiatives are just the tip of the iceberg. We have many more such initiatives planned for the near and distant future.
As India’s leading ground handler, AISATS provides a wide array of mission-critical services for its customer airlines. This gives us a unique perspective and the opportunity to shape the future standards for the industry. We want to be at the forefront, benchmarking decarbonization of airport ground operations so that the aviation industry is future-ready in a milieu of growing environmental aspirations.
