easyJet, leading low-cost airline, has become the world’s first airline to trial an innovative lightweight paint on its aircraft, aiming to enhance fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
Developed in collaboration with Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings, this new painting method reduces the number of layers required to achieve EasyJet’s distinctive orange and white livery, resulting in a weight reduction of approximately 27 kilograms per aircraft.
Currently, 38 easyJet planes have been coated with the new paint, already delivering fuel savings due to their lighter weight.
The airline projects that, once the fleet-wide rollout is completed by 2030, this initiative will lead to an annual fuel saving of 1,296 tonnes, equating to a reduction of 4,095 tonnes in carbon emissions.
Lahiru Ranasinghe, EasyJet’s Director of Sustainability, stated: “EasyJet is constantly exploring and developing innovative solutions to lower the impact of our operations. While this forms a small part of a bigger strategy, formulating a new lightweight paint with our partners at Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings exemplifies how we’re assessing every single part of our operation to find efficiency gains to help us achieve this mission.”
This initiative is part of EasyJet’s broader sustainability strategy, which includes a commitment to achieving a 35% reduction in carbon emissions per passenger kilometre by 2035 compared with 2019 levels.
In addition to the lightweight paint, EasyJet has implemented other measures to improve fuel efficiency, such as the installation of descent profile optimisation (DPO) software across its fleet.
The airline also supports the UK’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate, which requires SAF to make up at least 2% of all jet fuel used in flights from UK airports in 2025, with the percentage rising annually to reach 10% in 2030 and 22% in 2040.
By adopting innovative solutions like the lightweight paint and supporting industry-wide sustainability initiatives, EasyJet continues to demonstrate its commitment to reducing the environmental impact of aviation.
