The CEO of Uganda Airlines, Jennifer Bamuturaki has revealed that environmental sustainability in the aviation industry is one of the key issues to be discussed during the upcoming 55th African Airlines Association (AFRAA) Annual General Assembly and summit set to take place in Kampala this month.
The event which will take place from November 19- 21, 2023 at Munyonyo is to feature CEOs of 40 airlines from Africa and hundreds of stakeholders in the aviation sector.
As the facilitator of this year's AFRAA annual general assembly, Uganda hopes to use the opportunity to foster relationships and partnerships that could benefit the country's aviation sector and beyond.
Speaking to journalists on Friday, Bamuturaki highlighted that since African airlines are keen on environmental change, the stakeholders at the event will discuss solutions to reducing aircrafts carbon omissions and different ways of encouraging environmental sustainability agenda. She noted that Uganda will learn a lot from such discussions.
"We are going to hear the new ways of environmental sustainability in terms of governance, human resources. A lot of time, we come together to discuss challenges we have in airlines and how we can help each other. So, in these kinds of events, we have best practices discussed. Other airlines showcase how they handle certain situations. So, we as startups, it is one of those things that has improved us because we have learnt a lot and we are going to learn a lot." Bamuturaki said.
She also pointed out that the uptake of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and how African airlines can normalize its use will also be discussed.
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It is worth noting that by 2050, all airlines flying to Europe will be required to have SAF, the kind of fuel that includes synthetic fuels, biofuels, renewable electricity, and hydrogen-based fuels but excluding fuels from crops and feedstock.
As part of the requirement, aviation fuel suppliers must supply SAF for at least 2% of overall fuels, increasing to 32% in 2040 and 63% in 2050.
The Uganda Airlines CEO noted that during the high-level-meeting, the stakeholders will discuss Africa's readiness for SAF, amid concerns that the venture is too expensive for most of the African airlines.
Furthermore, Bamuturaki noted that the discussions will rotate around partnerships, and how African airlines can work together, to achieve profitability.
"So, the whole story talks about opening up, liberalization. That also enables us to partner with each other and be able to feed each other. So, those conversations will be discussed."
Uganda Airlines became a member of AFRAA in 2019, and recently won the race to host the 55th AFRAA Annual General Assembly.
At least 500 delegates from the spectrum of aviation, suppliers, manufacturers of aircrafts and different stakeholders are expected to attend the conference.
