After the Indian Railways, Air India has announced plans to stop the use of single-use plastics on its services from October 2. Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani revealed the proposal during a media workshop for aviation correspondents at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi on Thursday.
Lohani was quoted by news agency ANI as saying, “We are going to completely ban use of plastic in Alliance Air & Air India Express from October 2.” After starting with Alliance Air, a subsidiary carrier, and Air India Express, the ban on plastics will be extended to all Air India flights.
A notification at the workshop, which is being circulated on social media, explained banana chips and sandwiches, which are presently packed in plastic pouches on Air India flights, will be offered in butter paper pouches. Cake slices in the snack box will be replaced with muffins to avoid plastic wrapping. Special meals ordered by passengers in advance will use "eco-friendly" birch wood cutlery in place of plastic cutlery. Plastic tumblers and tea cups will be replaced by paper tumblers.
Interestingly, the ban by Air India will be enforced on the same day as the ban on single-use plastic announced by the Indian Railways. The announcements are aimed at introducing the ban on October 2, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. During his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had called for an end to the use of single-use plastics.
