British Airways has today announced a multi-million pound investment at London Heathrow in ground service equipment (GSE) to reduce emissions. Over 90 percent of British Airways’ vehicles are now zero emissions, hybrids, or operate on HVO fuel.
On Monday (March 18, 2024), British Airways announced a multi-million pound overhaul of their ground service equipment (GSE) at London Heathrow (LHR) to reduce emissions. Currently, 90 percent of British Airways’ vehicles at Heathrow are either zero emissions electrical equipment when being used, are hybrids, or operate on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel. The landmark investment includes the replacement of 750 pieces of equipment, including fuel browsers, from fossil fuel to HVO, which is an interim measure as the carrier gradually transitions to zero-emissions or hybrid equipment. Supplied by Phillips 66, the HVO is expected to save over 6,000 tonnes of CO2 annually compared to traditional diesel fuel, the equivalent of 8,000 return economy passenger journeys between London Heathrow and JFK.
In Monday’s announcement, British Airways’ Director of Heathrow, Tom Moran, said,
“At British Airways, we are committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and our focus isn’t just about reducing emissions in the air, but on the ground too. This major investment into our vehicles at Heathrow is our largest investment in more sustainable airport ground operations to date and is part of our wider environmental objective to minimise emissions from our airside ground operation. We’re proud of the work we are doing in this space and are excited to continue improving the running of our ground operations at Heathrow.”
Also commenting on the carrier’s equipment upgrades at Heathrow, British Airways’ Director of Sustainability, Carrie Harris, said,
“I am incredibly proud of this project, which has been driven by our Heathrow ground operations teams and encapsulates our BA Better World ethos of raising awareness of our strategy to all of our colleagues, and inspiring them to play a part in minimising our environmental impact where possible. Their energy, enthusiasm and innovative approach in bringing the project to life shows what can be achieved and this investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to making improvements across our business that will benefit both our customers and colleagues.”
As part of the ground operations transformation at Heathrow, BA is also replacing all diesel aircraft steps with electric alternatives and phasing out their fleet of 20 diesel-powered vehicles which support the loading and unloading of cargo containers, replacing them with hybrid-electric models. Additionally, British Airways is introducing 135 new electric baggage tugs, representing about 40 percent of the fleet. The carrier will also gradually phase out all 38 diesel passenger busses, with 23 to be fully electric, and the remaining 15 to operate on HVO fuel. These improvements are part of British Airways £7.0 billion investment in the transformation of many aspects of their business over the next three years.
Source: British Airways