Mumbai airport goes green, cuts down its carbon emissions

A new landing procedure, eco-friendly airfield vehicles, energy efficient lights and changes in traffic navigation at the Mumbai airport has made it among six airports in the Asia Pacific region that have cut down carbon emissions.

A new landing procedure, eco-friendly airfield vehicles, energy efficient lights and changes in traffic navigation at the Mumbai airport has made it among six airports in the Asia Pacific region that have cut down carbon emissions.

The airport reduced its carbon emissions by 200 tonnes a year, just by replacing conventional bulbs with energy efficient light-emitting diode (LED) lamps. Ten airfield vehicles run on CNG have also reduced carbon emissions, said airport officials. Only electric cars ply in the baggage movement area of the new international terminal, T2. The airport did not give comparative data from earlier years.

On Monday, the Airports Council International, an international agency, awarded the city airport an Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) level 3. The recognition is split in four levels – mapping, reduction, optimisation and neutrality. Globally, only 23 airports have achieved the award.

“Inclusive growth achieved by meaningful sustainable initiatives has been our strong organisation focus. We are pleased to achieve this accreditation from an independent global agency of repute. We are now even more motivated to pursue our carbon emission objectives,” said Rajeev Jain, chief operation officer with the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL).

Occupancy sensors that control the light use at office spaces according to the number of people in the room have been installed, and pilots have been asked to taxi on one engine. The continuous descent approach, a modern landing procedure, has reduced the time an arriving aircraft takes to hover above the airport.

“This approach style avoids the traditionally used step-ladder landing path. By adopting a constant descent angle from a high altitude, incoming flights save fuel burns,” said a senior Air Traffic Control official.