Jeju Air Takes Steps to Reduce Carbon Emissions... "Engine Cleaning and Brake Replacement"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Jeju Air announced on the 28th that it is making efforts to reduce carbon emissions by reducing aircraft weight through brake replacement and improving flight efficiency through engine cleaning.

Jeju Air is working to reduce carbon emissions by replacing aircraft brakes from conventional steel brakes to lighter carbon brakes. Starting with the replacement of brakes on 4 aircraft in 2019, it replaced brakes on 5 aircraft in 2020 and 12 aircraft last year. This year, it has replaced brakes on 3 more aircraft, completing replacements on a total of 24 aircraft currently in operation.

Replacing steel brakes with carbon brakes reduces the weight of one aircraft by about 320kg, saving 11.52kg of fuel and reducing carbon emissions by 36.4kgCO₂ when operating one one-way flight on the Gimpo~Jeju route.

Last year, operating 21 aircraft with carbon brake replacements reduced a total of 160 tons of fuel. The amount of carbon emission reduction recorded was approximately 505tCO₂.

In the first quarter of this year, operating 24 aircraft with carbon brakes reduced carbon emissions by about 154tCO₂. One more aircraft is scheduled to be replaced within this year, so the amount of carbon emission reduction is expected to increase compared to last year. In addition, Jeju Air conducts engine cleaning twice a year to remove foreign substances inside the engine and improve flight efficiency, thereby saving fuel. Based on last year, about 611 tons of fuel were saved annually, and the carbon reduction amount reached about 1930tCO₂.

The B737-8, scheduled to be introduced sequentially from next year, is expected to accelerate efforts to reduce carbon emissions as it offers about a 13% reduction in carbon emissions compared to existing aircraft. In addition, Jeju Air pilots have been voluntarily conducting the ‘Saving the Polar Bears Project’ campaign since 2017, continuing efforts to reduce carbon emissions through improved fuel efficiency. A Jeju Air official said, “Through various carbon reduction efforts, we will be able to take a step closer to carbon neutrality, which has recently become a hot topic.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.