A SUSTAINABLE FLIGHT PATH

Battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s aviation sector relies on sustainability for the road to viability among airports and airlines. Here’s what works, what doesn’t.

- ANSHUL DHAMIJA

BACK IN 2012, when the Kerala State Electricity Board hiked grid tariffs from ₹4 to ₹7 a unit, a large commercial establishment like the Cochin International Airport saw its annual electricity bill almost double to ₹12 crore. The power hike disrupted the business viability plan for India’s first greenfield airport—which started operations in 1999—under the PublicPrivate Participation (PPP) model. With over 18,000 investors from 30 different countries, Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL)—Cochin airport’s parent company—in a bid to lower its power bill, decided to shift towards solar power.

What began as an economic imperative snowballed into a green initiative like no other. In 2015, Cochin airport became the first in the world to be fully powered by solar energy. With an installed solar power capacity of 40 MWp (Megawatts-peak), the airport has achieved cost savings of approximately ₹40 crores per annum and has avoided CO2 emissions of more than 45,000 metric tons. Over the next two decades, the airport estimates that it would avoid CO2 emissions of more than 9 lakh metric tons, which it says is equivalent to planting 90 lakh trees or not driving 2,400 million miles!

Sustainability is the need of the hour, and India’s aviation sector is embracing it with open arms. While there have been early adopters like Cochin International Airport, the Covid-19 pandemic has made sure that the pace of adoption is hastened by all stakeholders.