Abu Dhabi Airports has welcomed the arrival of Etihad Airways’ Greenliner at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), where it touched down following its journey from Boeing’s manufacturing and delivery center located in Charleston, South Carolina.

The first-of-its-kind ‘Etihad Greenliner’ is the result of an ‘eco partnership’ announced last year between Etihad Airways and Boeing to develop a specially-themed Boeing 787 Dreamliner to test products, procedures and initiatives designed to reduce aircraft carbon emissions.

Based out of Abu Dhabi International Airport, one of the first airports in the region to earn the accreditation level of ‘Reduction’ as a part of the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation program, the Greenliner will operate scheduled services across Etihad’s network.

Bryan Thompson, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “Sustainability is a key enabler of our vision of becoming the world’s leading airports group. Through upgrading our airfield lighting system with energy-efficient bulbs to our numerous accreditations, this is testament to our commitment to protecting the UAE’s natural heritage and mitigating the impacts of climate change. As such, we are delighted to welcome Etihad’s Greenliner to Abu Dhabi International Airport and look forward to continuing to enhance the sustainability of our operations in partnership with Etihad Airways.”

Tony Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Aviation Group, said: “The Etihad Greenliner is the result our commitment to advancing sustainable practices in aviation, and we are pleased to be working in partnership with Boeing and Abu Dhabi Airports to discover new ways of incrementally lowering fuel consumption and carbon emissions.”

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is recognized as being 20-25% more efficient than similar-sized aircraft, however, Etihad’s Greenliner will enable equipment suppliers, airspace regulators and other interested partners to test efficiency measures and sustainable technologies that have the potential to further reduce the plane’s fuel consumption and carbon dioxide output.

The arrival of the Greenliner to AUH comes at a time when Abu Dhabi Airports continues to be recognized for its sustainability practices. In 2011, AUH was the first airport in the Middle East and North Africa region to be ACI Airport Carbon Accredited in the ‘mapping’ level, and the achievement of an accreditation level of ‘reduction’ in 2018 recognizes Abu Dhabi Airports’ continued commitment to helping fight climate change through the management of its carbon emissions.

In addition, AUH was recognized by ACI Asia-Pacific as a part of its Green Airports Recognition 2018 program. The program recognizes airports’ outstanding achievements in their environmental projects, and AUH earned Gold recognition for the extensive sustainability and environmental protection efforts undertaken during the ongoing construction of the Midfield Terminal.

Abu Dhabi Airports has also received numerous other certifications and accreditations from prominent international and local organizations in recognition of its practices that promote environmental awareness and sustainability. These include ISO 14001 Environment Management System certification and ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification.

The airports company recently upgraded the Airfield Lighting System of the Southern Runway at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) to a CAT-IIIB system, joining a select group of international airports to have implemented the energy-efficient advanced technology that supports low visibility operations.