The complexities of running a sustainable aviation FBO

While air travel is an essential component of modern life for many, sustainable aviation is becoming increasingly important.

There is no denying the negative impact of fuel emissions and rising carbon levels on our planet, and sustainability is a major point of concern for Fireblade Aviation. As part of our dedication to this cause, we aim to be radically transparent and honest about the practicalities of aviation and the many misconceptions around so-called sustainable solutions, and we are determined to invest in research to assist with innovating and pushing boundaries in the industry.

The Fireblade team is committed to reducing our environmental impact where possible to ensure a safe future for the planet and the industry, and to invest in research that can provide realistic long-term solutions to the current status quo. According to Fireblade Aviation’s Executive of FBO, Bradley Stalls, the beginning point of this journey is taking stock and learning as much as possible.

“At the moment we are putting together a very logical and effective road map for ourselves, and we’re measuring our consumption so that we can understand what impact we have. We’re measuring everything from energy consumption to distances travelled and we’re doing this because we really want to understand what our impact is, and then from there what actions we will need to put in place to reduce that in a sustainable way.”

OUR COMMITMENT TO FUTURE AVIATION

As part of our commitment to a sustainable future Fireblade joined the Long Run organisation in 2021. “We have recently partnered with the Long Run which is an organisation that focuses on sustainability from a holistic perspective. So when we talk about sustainability we are also referring to the pillars of the Four Cs, namely culture, conservation, commerce and community,” says Stalls.

This new structured and balanced approach will ensure that Fireblade becomes an active participant in amplifying the positive influence of travel on our communities and ecosystems across Africa.

“We’re the first aviation company to join the Long Run.” says Stalls. “Sustainability in aviation is complex, we don’t have a lot of the infrastructure as of yet and we will need to work on developing more alternatives, like hydrogen or electric aircrafts. As an example, in some countries sustainable fuel is gaining traction but we don’t necessarily have those opportunities here yet. From what we’ve seen we have an appetite for it and we can see interest and research in that field growing, which is why supporting these developments is important. “

SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES

Sustainable aviation electric car parking

While we are investing in ways of producing a more sustainable future for aviation, we are also trying to implement day-to-day sustainability practices in our own offering and our purpose built facility, with the introduction of electric car charging ports serving as an example. “We are actively trying to reduce waste and measure our waste consumption,” says Stalls. “We are also migrating our process to become more digital to reduce paper consumption.”

The Fireblade kitchen staff also has weekly meetings about reducing waste and ensuring that sustainability is at the forefront of everything they do. These sustainable measures include the kitchen moving to biodegradable packaging, introducing composting bins to reduce waste, and sourcing fresh produce from the sustainable on-site Fireblade Aviation garden.

While we still have a long way to go, we are excited to embark on this sustainability journey not just for ourselves, but for our guests and industry too.