easyJet switches to reusable crew meal trays throughout its UK and EU network

easyJet has introduced reusable crew meal trays, developed in partnership with Ecoffee Cup, across its UK and European fleet—cutting onboard waste and strengthening the airline’s wider sustainability programme. After successful adoption within easyJet’s Swiss operation and at its Marrakech (RAK) base, the trays—used by crew for all in‑flight meals—are now being deployed across every UK and EU aircraft. They replace the single‑use cardboard boxes previously used, offering a more durable, practical solution for daily crew catering.

The rollout is expected to eliminate more than 1.5 million cardboard meal boxes each year, significantly reducing single‑use materials across the operation. Made from certified food‑safe plastic, the trays complement other onboard sustainability measures already in place, including reusable cups and cutlery introduced for crew meals in 2024. This initiative is one of many steps easyJet is taking to reduce onboard waste, demonstrating how small operational changes can collectively help lower the airline’s overall environmental impact.

Michael Brown, Director of Cabin Services at easyJet, commented: "At easyJet, we are always looking for practical ways to reduce waste across our operation. Our crew really embraced the introduction of reusable cups and cutlery and the addition of reusable trays will help prevent further single use waste from being generated. This is another small but important step in our efforts to reduce the impact of our operations and we’ll continue to explore further opportunities to limit waste onboard our aircraft and reduce our environmental impact."

Maximising efficiencies to lower operational impact: The reusable crew trays are part of a wide range of initiatives easyJet is deploying to reduce aircraft waste and combine many marginal gains into broader emissions reduction. These techniques include among others:

Digital fuel app: easyJet is partnering with i6 Group to introduce eHandshake, a digital refuelling platform that modernises the way fuel is ordered, delivered and verified across its network. Integrated into pilots' existing ETechlog system, the technology provides more accurate fuel data, helping reduce unnecessary fuel uplift, lower fuel burn and improve operational efficiency. The platform is expected to save around 10,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year, while also creating a fully digital fuel workflow that improves data accuracy, strengthens invoice verification and eliminates an estimated 600,000 sheets of paper annually.

Lighter paints: In 2025, easyJet announced the adoption of a new lower-weight paint system, which is expected to achieve fuel savings of 1,296 tonnes and CO₂ reductions of 4,095 tonnes once fully implemented across the entire fleet by 2030. easyJet is the first airline to test this paint solution developed by Mankiewicz Aviation Coatings.

New ultra-lightweight seats: easyJet has selected new ultra-lightweight Kestrel seats from Mirus Aircraft Seating for future Airbus A320neo and A321neo deliveries from 2028. The seats are over 20% lighter than those currently used, helping to reduce aircraft weight, fuel burn and emissions, with expected savings of more than 40,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually. The new seats will also improve the customer experience by providing up to two inches of additional legroom, while their durable and highly recyclable design supports easyJet's broader sustainability and operational efficiency goals.