News

A Chinese airline is urging its passengers to visit the loo before boarding their flight in a bid to cut costs.

It has been calculated that flushing the loo while travelling at 30,000 feet uses a litre of fuel, reports Xinhua news agency.

Chinese airlines are coming under increasing pressure to reduce fuel expenditure as the industry tries to save some money, and the request over the use of onboard toilets is seen as a way of doing just that.

'The energy used in one flush is enough for an economical car to run at least ten kilometres,' said pilot Lui Zhiyuan.

In addition, experts have worked out that by carrying one kilogramme of items such as blankets and magazines for one hour, 0.2 kilogrammes of fuel is used.

'This means the blankets and pillows on board the aircraft eat up 60 tonnes of fuel every day,' continued Mr Zhiyuan.

'If each seat is loaded with three 450-gram magazines, another 60 tonnes will be consumed.'

Another plan will see the water tank onboard flights filled to only 60 per cent capacity, which may also help to reduce the number of toilet breaks taken by passengers.

© Adfero Ltd