Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, the ultra-low-fare national airline of the UAE, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure to increase awareness on sustainability.
The agreement was signed by His Excellency Eng Sharif Al Olama, Undersecretary for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and Johan Eidhagen, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.
The airline and the Ministry will collaborate on a wide range of areas to raise awareness about sustainability amongst Wizz Air’s Abu Dhabi passengers. This includes online educational campaigns on both organisation’s social media platforms, websites, forums and key stakeholder events. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and the Ministry will both endorse the ‘Switch off Take off’ initiative, one of the key National Conservation campaigns, which encourages people to be more conscious with energy and water use.
With the UAE hosting COP28 during The Year of Sustainability, the agreement comes at a timely moment, as national entities such as Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and the Ministry focus on increasing sustainability programmes across all operations and with key stakeholders.
Wizz Air globally has been recognised as the ‘Most Sustainable Low-Cost airline’ in the World Finance Sustainability Awards in 2021-2023, and as ‘airline Group of the Year for Global Environmental Sustainability’ by CAPA – Centre for aviation in 2022-2023. The airline continuously operates with the lowest carbon intensity among its competitors, which amounted to 51.2 grams per passenger/km in the first half of fiscal year 2024, an 8% decrease compared to the same period of fiscal year 2023.
Wizz Air invests in the latest technology aircraft, embraces SAF, and works collaboratively with partners, regulators, and stakeholders, leading the charge towards a more sustainable air travel.
His Excellency Eng Sharif Al Olama said: “As the Year of Sustainability draws to an end, we underscore our commitment to continuing to integrate sustainability across the board. Raising awareness among Wizz Air’s passenger will substantially increase the engagement of many people in our sustainability initiatives related to conserving energy and water – a main priority of the Ministry. We are pleased to partner with Wizz Air in this initiative and thank the company for its dedication to becoming sustainable.”
Johan Eidhagen, Managing Director of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, said: “We are proud to be partnering with the UAE Ministry of Energy & Infrastructure to raise awareness on the importance of greater sustainability and energy efficiency. As a leading national airline, we are committed to reducing our carbon emissions intensity and increasing awareness amongst passengers, partners and stakeholders on steps that everyone can take to act more environmentally conscious. We look forward to greater collaboration with the Ministry through events, online campaigns and awareness initiatives so that we can collectively bring sustainable benefits to our organisations and communities.”
The second largest airline in Abu Dhabi by seat capacity, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi operated more than 6,000 flights and carried more than 1.2 million passengers last year.
The airline expects to double the number of passengers it carries from Abu Dhabi during this fiscal year to between 2.5 million and three million. Wizz Air Abu Dhabi also plans to recruit 250 employees as it prepares to double its fleet size in the fiscal year ending March 2024 and add more capacity on existing popular routes amid strong travel demand.
tanvir@dubainewsweek.com
