Air France-KLM lowered its average fuel consumption per passenger last year as it steps up its fuel-saving efforts. In 2018, fuel consumption at the airline fell to an average 3.21 litters per passenger per 100 kilometers from around 3.30 litters in 2017, according to the company’s annual sustainability report. The group said that last year it met its goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions per passenger kilometers by 20% compared with 2011. The airline’s CO2 emissions between 2017 and 2018 also remained flat despite a sharp increase in traffic, the report shows, which the airline put down to projects such as route optimisation and weight reduction. The group estimates that Air France saved 18,000 tons of jet fuel in 2018, and aims to save 25,000 tons next year. <br/>
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KLM has agreed to purchase 75,000 tonnes of biofuel a year from 2022 onwards from a new plant being developed in Amsterdam. The carrier says that under a 10-year agreement it will take 75% of the fuel produced annually by SkyNRG at its planned Delfzijl site, which will be Europe’s first dedicated plant for the production of sustainable fuel. The production facility will specialise in producing sustainable fuel, primarily from regional waste and residue streams as feedstock, and will seek to produce 100,000 tonnes of biofuel and 15,000 tonnes of bioLPG per year at the plant. KLM, which is a part owner of SkyNRG, says it is the first airline in the world to invest in sustainable aviation fuel on this scale, adding that it is a "concrete step" towards fulfilling its sustainability ambitions. <br/>
A man mauled by another passenger’s emotional support dog on a Delta Air Lines flight has sued the airline and the other passenger for negligence. A lawsuit alleges Marlin Jackson was in a window seat when a dog sitting in the lap of the passenger next to him suddenly attacked his face. The June 2017 attack during boarding of a flight from Atlanta to San Diego gained national attention and was followed by a series of changes to airline policies for emotional support and service animals. The federal govt is also reviewing its policies for emotional support and service animals on flights. Jackson “bled so profusely that the entire row of seats had to be removed from the airplane,” according to the complaint. Delta, the suit alleges, “took no action to verify or document the behavioural training of the large animal.” <br/>
An Aeromexico plane from Bogotá to Tokyo made an emergency landing in northern Mexico, Friday, after a passenger died mid-flight. The Attorney-General’s office for the state of Sonora, Mexico, said the commercial flight, carrying 199 passengers, made a stopover in Mexico City before departing for Tokyo on a 13-hour-long journey. Shortly after taking off, a 42-year-old passenger on board began having a seizure and the pilot made the decision to divert the plane to Hermosillo International An autopsy conducted on the deceased’s body revealed 246 packages of cocaine, measuring 2.5 centimetres long and a centimetre wide, stuffed inside his stomach and intestines. "The body of the traveller did not present other signs of violence that could cause the death," the AG’s office said. <br/>
Garuda Indonesia is signalling that it will cut back its Europe presence in a bid to reduce its losses. Carrier CE Ari Askhara recently told a parliamentary commission recently that flights to London will end in August, and that frequency to Amsterdam will be halved to thrice-weekly. Flights to Bima, Maumere, and Morotai will see also frequency reductions as fuel costs to these destinations are said to be "80% higher" than on other domestic routes. Askhara explains the carrier was forced to end the London flights as the route could not be sustained without subsidies. Two other routes, Denpasar-Mumbai and Tanjung Pandan-Singapore, also saw similar fate. A subsidy to support the new route launches also did not materialise as expected. <br/>