From January 1st 2020, as pledged by Portuguese airline Hi Fly President Paulo Mirpuri in 2018, all Hi Fly’s own flights are taking to the air without any single-use plastic items on-board.
The company launched a plastic-free trial on four flights last month, replacing cutlery with compostable bamboo cups and spoons. Salt and pepper shakers, bedding packaging dishes, single-serve butter pots, soda bottles, and toothbrushes were swapped for more sustainable alternatives.
According to Hi Fly, the trial, which took place over the New Year holiday period, was a success. More than 700 passengers were served sustainable alternatives, saving a total of 350 kilograms of plastic. Glass bottles were collected to be sanitized and refilled and any card and paper were gathered to be recycled.
“Over 100,000 flights take off each day around the world and, last year, commercial aircraft carried nearly four billion passengers. This number is expected to double again in less than 20 years. So, the potential to make a difference here is clearly enormous,” President Paulo Mirpuri said.
While the trial period has ended, Hi Fly is now committed to eliminating single-use plastic from all flights.
