Brazil’s Azul will reduce carbon emissions by 471 tonnes per month with optimized routes approved by airspace control department DECEA, the airline has announced. Azul flies to the most destinations of any Brazilian airline and ranks as the fastest-growing, with an increase in revenue passenger kilometers in November of 30.6 percent over the prior year. Azul also stands as the country’s youngest major airline, celebrating its 11th anniversary on Sunday.
DECEA, the Air Force department of airspace control responsible for Brazil’s airspace and ATC, implemented the route optimization proposed by Azul. A total of 22 requests underwent study and gained acceptance by DECEA, resulting in shorter, more efficient, and more sustainable routes available to other airlines as well, an Azul spokesman explained. Azul operates a mixed fleet of Embraer, Airbus, and ATR aircraft.
“With the growth of the latest-generation fleet and this work along with DECEA, we are making significant improvements in our operations, which can be even more significant with the approval of additional studies we’ll be sending for analysis next year,” Azul president John Rodgerson said in a statement. The airline’s flight operations department continuously looks for where it can institute route improvements. “[We] think first on which routes can have the greatest positive environmental impact,” Rodgerson added.
“DECEA receives these requests and analyzes them on the basis that airspace functions as a system, where any change has consequences,” said Air Force general Ary Rodrigues Bertolino, head of DECEA’s operations subdepartment. “With this in mind, these proposed alterations improve flights between the requested origin and destination, without interfering with air traffic as a whole.” Bertolino was also responsible for planning for the World Cup and the Rio Olympics.