Sustainability in the Sky

5 days ago | sustainabilityinthesky.com | Lorne Philpot

AviaDev, Africa’s premier aviation route development event, has named Mesfin Tasew, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, as the 2025 recipient of the Ato Girma Wake Lifetime Achievement Award. Tasew earns this prestigious award for his outstanding contributions to African aviation and route development. The award, voted on by AviaDev’s advisory board and named after industry luminary Ato Girma Wake, celebrates leaders who have profoundly shaped the continent’s aviation landscape.

6 days ago | sustainabilityinthesky.com | Lorne Philpot

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that $1.3 billion in airline funds are blocked from repatriation by governments as of end April 2025, impacting operations in the aviation sector. This amount is significant, although it is an improvement of 25% compared with the $1.7 billion reported for October 2024.

6 days ago | sustainabilityinthesky.com | Lorne Philpot

Airlines in Africa recorded a 4.7% year-on-year increase in air cargo demand in April 2025, while cargo capacity rose at a faster rate of 9.7%. IATA said in a report, “African airlines saw a 4.7% year-on-year increase in demand for air cargo in April. Capacity increased by 9.7% year-on-year.” The data was published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which also noted a 5.8% increase in global cargo demand for the same period, alongside a 6.3% rise in available cargo capacity.

6 days ago | sustainabilityinthesky.com | Lorne Philpot

IATA says that ineffective policy is one of the reasons hindering the scaling up of Sustainable Aviation fuel (SAF) production. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that it expects Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production to reach 2 million tonnes (Mt) (2.5 billion liters) or 0.7% of airlines’ total fuel consumption in 2025. “While it is encouraging that SAF production is expected to double to 2 million tonnes in 2025, that is just 0.7% of aviation’s total fuel needs.

1 week ago | sustainabilityinthesky.com | Lorne Philpot

Emirates Flight Catering (EKFC), one of the world’s largest catering operations, has inked an agreement with Mallaghan, Al-Futtaim Auto and Machinery Company (FAMCO) and Volvo to purchase 53 aircraft catering trucks. This investment of AED 60 million (USD $16 million) is part of its extensive ground fleet renewal programme, under which EKFC plans to introduce 120 next-generation vehicles over 5 years. “We are excited to embark on the complete modernisation of our fleet of aircraft catering trucks.