"Every airline has right to cut operations, crew size," says IATA on Delhi air pollution

New Delhi [India], November 15 (ANI): As Delhi-NCR is reeling under air pollution with air quality continuing to remain in the "poor" category, International Air Transport Association (IATA) top official on Tuesday said that every airline has the right to cut its operations and crew size.
IATA is a trade association of airlines of the world, which has organized the IATA Aviation Energy Forum in Delhi.
Speaking to ANI, Sebastian Mickoz, Senior Vice President for Environment and Sustainability, IATA said, "Every airline has the right to cut its operations and crew size if the airline does not anticipate a safe environment for the crew. In the past, it was seen that several foreign airlines had cut their operations and crew size for Delhi due to air pollution. If any airline estimates that their crew members are not in comfort or there is no safe environment, they have every right to do it (cut operations)."
Sebastian's response came when asked about past instances where several foreign airlines cut down their operation in view of air pollution.
However, the IATA's senior vice president clarified that it is the airline's decision to cut down on crew size and operations amid air pollution in Delhi-NCR and IATA does not have the right to make recommendations to any airline company in this regard.
"IATA never made this kind of recommendation because the running operations and growth is the sole responsibility of the airline," Sebastian said.
Back in 2017, considering the "severe" air quality in Delhi NCR, United Airlines suspended its flights from Newark to Delhi citing the region remained under a public health emergency.
Sebastian further shared data that how the aviation industry has a very limited role in air pollution in any city. The IATA senior VP reiterated that the air pollution in the city does not come from the operation of the aircraft but from the urban lifestyle.
"Atmospheric pollution in the city is completely different from using sustainability aviation fuel (SAF). Aviation contributes to only two per cent of global emissions. The pollution in cities does not come from planes. It comes from the urban style of heating," Sebastian said.
Sebastian appreciated the Government of India's measures to prevent decarbonization in Indian aviation. India as a country has taken a lot of initiatives to curb pollution, he said.
He said India's energy outlook shows that the country will increase its dependency on renewable energy sources to meet its rising energy demands.
The IATA three-day Energy Forum in Delhi is merging the Fuels Forum and Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and will cover key topics such as commercial and technical fuels as well as SAFs and other options that contribute to meeting the 2050 net Zero target.
Meanwhile, in a relative relief, the air pollution levels in Delhi came down to the 'poor' category from 'very poor', as the national capital recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 221 on Tuesday morning, as per System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research SAFAR.
The National Capital Region (NCR) also witnessed some improvement in air quality as Gurugram fell in the 'Moderate' category with an AQI of 162 and Delhi Airport (T3) recorded "poor" quality air with an AQI of 218. However, Noida continued to breathe in "very poor" quality air as the AQI of the city stood at 302. (ANI)