Air France is continuing its aim to halve its CO2 emissions per passenger km by 2030, with investment in electric ramp equipment.
The carrier has partnered with French start-up company Carwatt and ramp equipment firm TLD to test the ramp handling of a Paris-Delhi A350 flight using all-electric engines.
Equipment used for the test included a Carwatt conveyor belt to load baggage, a TLD wide-body loader for cargo loading, a Charlatte tractor for the transfer of baggage from the terminal to the aircraft, and a TLD wide-body tug to push back the aircraft from its parking stand.
Air France said that the partnership “combines electrification and circular economy, with the transformation of old thermally powered baggage carousels into electric-powered carousels with second-life Li-Ion batteries”.
The carrier said that by the end of this year close to 60 per cent of its owned fleet of ramp equipment (used at Paris CDG, Paris Orly and Air France stations in mainland France) will be electric, with this figure set to rise to 90 per cent in 2025, saving 10,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
Other recent sustainable initiatives have included the removal of single use plastic items from flights, and waste sorting on board its flights to Paris, with items such as plastic, Tetra Pak cartons, aluminium cans and glass bottles being handled by Servair at Charles de Gaulle and Orly airports and recycled in France and Europe.
