Greener Aviation: Navigating the legendary L888 airway to reduce emissions

It’s not easy to reduce aviation emissions and make airlines more sustainable, so every effort counts. Flying the Lima Triple Eight (L888) airway is one way DHL is helping make the skies greener. But just getting permission to fly over Tibet’s famously challenging terrain was a big achievement on its own.

The L888 airway and the nearby Yankee One (Y1) “feeder” route are well-known among pilots and aviation experts. Often called the Silk Road Airway, they run right across China over the highlands of Tibet, where the Himalayas reach up to 16,000 feet (approx. 5,000 meters) and higher. The air up there is thin, and the mountains make flying tricky, so pilots have to follow special rules.

Before planes can fly over the “roof of the world,” they have to meet some pretty tough safety standards. This is crucial because if something goes wrong, like an engine problem or a sudden loss of cabin pressure, pilots need to act fast. On a normal route over lower terrain, a pilot will normally descend quickly to an altitude of 10,000 feet (approx. 3,000 meters) in an emergency. But that’s not an option over Tibet’s wide, high plateau.

Getting the green light to use the L888 airway is a big deal for an airline. In February 2024, European Air Transport Leipzig (EAT)^[i]  became the first DHL airline to fly an Airbus A330 along the awe-inspiring route.

It took the German airline a whole year to get all the permissions needed for these flights. What helped was that EAT pilots had already been flying part of the L888 airway from Hong Kong (China) to Kazakhstan’s capital, Almaty, since March 2023, and a longer flight path stretching further north over less challenging parts of China.

EAT’s Airbus A330 is also the perfect plane for the L888. It carries enough oxygen bottles to last until the pilots reach one of the designated escape routes and land at an alternative airport. The plane also has a special system called a Future Air Navigation System (FANS) that enables precise satellite positioning and navigation.

Modern planes like the A330 and the Boeing 777F are helping us build the most efficient fleet available. Using state-of-the-art technology, we can plan optimal flights that minimize fuel consumption and aviation emissions.

By using the L888 and Y1 airways, we save about 20 minutes on each flight, which means using less fuel, saving money, and, importantly, reducing carbon emissions. With six flights a week, the benefits really add up.

The journey to get here was long and full of challenges, but a dedicated effort from a global team finally earned the green light from the Civil Aviation Administration of China and a pathway to more sustainable flights.

Now, flying this route is simply part of our routine and one of many ways we are working to reduce aviation emissions. That makes the breathtaking view from the cockpit even more amazing. 

^[i] European Air Transport Leipzig GmbH (EAT) is a 100% subsidiary of DHL Group and part of DHL Express. Learn more.

Our L888 flights are just one part of our much bigger goal to make our airlines more sustainable and aviation greener! Sign up for our Delivered newsletter or follow us on social media (links below) as we pilot the way to eco-friendly flying!