For ITA Airways, it is an honor and a source of great pride to accompany Pope Francis and his entourage and to do so under the banner of sustainability, something that the Pontiff himself frequently refers to in his Magisterium.
ITA Airways has arranged for the Apostolic Journeys of the Holy Father, flights with zero environmental impact in CO2 emissions related to fuel consumption through:
• the efficiency of the operational and eco-piloting procedures already in place – route planning, airport handling, ascent and descent manoeuvres, en-route optimisation, interventions on the aircraft – in order to reduce fuel consumption as much as possible;
• Currently, Sustainable Airline Fuel (SAF) only accounts for 0.5% of the aviation fuel supply.. The SAF mixes traditional fuel with a percentage of biological content (used and regenerated cooking oil, without competition with the food chain or damage to biodiversity), which contributes until a 80% reduction in emissions of CO2 .
• the full compensation of non-eliminable emissions derived from fuel consumption with the purchase of 'carbon credits through participation in a CO2 reduction project (Gold Standard certificate) selected on the basis of two criteria: destination in local communities, and being located in one of the countries to which ITA Airways flies.
In the photo below: the CEO of ITA Airways Fabio Maria Lazzerini presents Pope Francis, in departure for Bahrain, a print on canvas with a symbolic illustration of the airline's Sustainability Manifesto, the work of the esteemed Italian illustrator Emiliano Ponzi.
