AMSTERDAM, 12 May 2023 – After months of innovating and ideating, the wait is over. Between 15 – 28 May 2023, 22 global airlines will take to the skies as part of SkyTeam’s second Sustainable Flight Challenge – a shared mission to discover new solutions to help make air travel greener. For a second consecutive year, the global airline alliance is harnessing the power of friendly competition and challenging airlines to operate their flights as sustainably as possible, above and below wing, from pushback to parking stand.
Launched in 2022, The Sustainable Flight Challenge (TSFC) is the industry’s first sustainability initiative of its kind and aims to affect meaningful change in the short-term. All participating airlines commit to sharing their innovations and insights industry-wide after the challenge to help reduce aviation’s environmental impact while the industry waits for greater availability of alternative fuel sources.
"After last year’s inaugural challenge generated hundreds of new innovations, many of which are being adopted by our airlines, we’re excited to see what new ideas the second Sustainable Flight Challenge will bring our industry. A lot of hard work has gone into these dedicated flights and I am proud of the efforts these airlines are making in our mission to reduce emissions and find new ways to make air travel greener."
Patrick Roux
CEO, SkyTeam
To qualify, flights must form part of the airlines’ existing networks and fall within a specified distance. Once completed, airlines submit their results which will be evaluated for each award against set criteria by a diverse panel of aviation and sustainability experts from around the world.
This year’s seven awards categories include:
Lowest CO2 emissions
Greatest CO2 reduction
Lowest CO2 emissions ground operations
Best in-flight waste management
Best collaboration
Best adoption
Best Innovation
This year, the 22 participating airlines – SkyTeam members and SkyTeam ‘friends and family’ – will operate a total of 72 flights, comprising 24 short-, 24 medium- and 24 long-haul services. Last year’s challenge comprised a total of 22 flights operated by 16 airlines.
Airlines taking part in the challenge are: Aerolíneas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Aeromexico Connect, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Delta Air Lines, Endeavor Air, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways, Kenya Airways, Jambojet, KLM, KLM Cityhopper, Korean Air, MEA, Saudia, Shanghai Airlines, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines and Xiamenair.
Category winners will be announced later this year and ideas, innovations and insights will be presented at a showcase event hosted by Delta Air Lines in Atlanta.
About SkyTeam
SkyTeam is dedicated to powering a seamless customer journey, with all members working together to connect millions of passengers across an extensive global network. The members are Aeroflot (suspended), Aerolineas Argentinas, Aeromexico, Air Europa, Air France, China Airlines, China Eastern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Garuda Indonesia, ITA Airways, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, Middle East Airlines, Saudia, TAROM, Vietnam Airlines, and XiamenAir.
About the Sustainable Flight Challenge
The Sustainable Flight Challenge (TSFC) exists to challenge the aviation industry by stimulating and accelerating innovation towards a sustainable future. TSFC was first presented in 2022 by SkyTeam, a leading airline alliance with member carriers around the world. This year’s challenge is scheduled between 15 May – 28 May 2023 in which 22 participating airlines will implement their most sustainable solutions and compete for awards in 31 categories. This challenge - including flight and ground operations - is another step in the aviation industry’s path towards a more sustainable future.