It’s no secret that the aviation industry has a net zero 2050 target. As a company, we have been working towards that for several years now, and more recently, towards our own company targets of being net zero by 2035 and carbon negative by 2040 for our direct operations across the estate i.e. on the ground.

Corporate responsibility to the local community is really important in India and with this in mind, we have joined forces with the GMR Varalakshmi Foundation (GMRVF), which has a mandate to develop social infrastructure and enhance the quality of life of communities around the locations where GMR operates.

As an air traffic controller, I usually manage aircraft in a very busy sector of airspace. However, as millions of people across the world are put on lockdown, the number of flights across the UK has dropped dramatically and I’ve been put on furlough. It’s unusual to have time off like this and I wanted to try and fill it doing something meaningful. A friend told me about a community group looking for volunteers to make urgently needed personal protective clothing for the NHS and care homes, so I got stuck in.