Safe Landing member Maxine was invited as an external participant to a co-creation session on collaboratively shaping the future vision of The Aviation Challenge (TAC) up to 2030. The session aimed to develop a visionary roadmap aligning with collective sustainability and innovation objectives.
About The Aviation Challenge
“TAC is a collaborative aviation initiative founded to accelerate toward a more sustainable future for air travel […] TAC is inspired by the great London to Melbourne aviation race of 1934, which generated many innovations and changes to international travel. Similarly, TAC is about which airline can operate the most sustainable flight or generate the most significant innovation to further reduce aviation’s impact on the environment. […] By organizing TAC, SkyTeam aims to bring some of the aviation industry together, through a friendly competition, to create innovation and take action now.
The 2024 Challenge opens to airlines outside SkyTeam for the very first time. We are open to expanding the challenge to other important actors within the aviation industry in the coming years. This includes suppliers, airports, ground handlers, other airlines and all the other players that contribute to our far-reaching industry. […] 25 airlines in and outside of the Skyteam Alliance are taking part in this years’ challenge.”
Expanding participation
Representatives from various airlines, including Kenya Airways, China Airlines, Saudia Airlines, KLM, Korean Air, and Air France, participated in the session. It was the first time that TAC invited external participants to broaden the collective expertise and diverse viewpoints in crafting a comprehensive and effective vision that addresses the complex challenges and opportunities facing our industry. Three external participants represented ‘the frequent flyer,’ ‘the activist,’ and ‘the other sector,’ challenging SkyTeam and the airline representatives during the session.
Expanding bold, effective and sustainable solutions
The session focused on selecting one future concept for TAC. The main criteria for the concept are that it reduces environmental CO2 impact in the short-to-medium term through actionable, quantifiable inter-airline solutions. Maxine emphasised the importance of accounting for and mitigating non-CO2 effects and quantifying short-to-medium term impacts since the aviation industry needs to act within this decade.
Key takeaways and insights
Three concepts were presented and discussed, with Maxine’s input contributing to several conclusions:
- Raise ambition to increase impact and be more sustainable effectively (rather than implementing penny wise, pound foolish interventions).
- Community strength requiring uncommon collaborations.
- Workers’ Assemblies: “Workers on the shop floor” know best.
“Your insights and feedback are invaluable and will play a crucial role in shaping our path forward.” said the organiser, SkyTeam.
Get involved
Safe Landing is grateful to be part of the internal industry process of working towards a more sustainable future for aviation. We encourage organisations such as TAC to expand collaborations with parties like Safe Landing to incorporate aviation worker perspectives into decision-making. Safe Landing is always open to collaborating and sharing our community expertise for the greater good.
Do you want to raise the voice of aviation workers? Join our international community by signing up here! Are you are an organisation looking to involve Safe Landing members in your event? Please get in touch with us to discuss the possibilities.