British Airways to save nearly a million pieces of paper a year with new tech

British Airways says aircraft issues will now be recorded electronically instead of in writing (British Airways/PA)

British Airways will save nearly one million pieces of paper each year by logging aircraft issues electronically instead of in writing, the airline announced.

The new E-Logs system will also reduce flight delays as planes will spend less time out of action, according to the carrier.

Aircraft technical logs have historically been paper-based, with flight and cabin crew writing out details of faults.

The reports are then transcribed and transferred to maintenance teams, who carry out any required work and then update logs, again in writing.

E-Logs involves issues being reported via onboard iPads, with the data transferred immediately to engineers before the plane lands.

This enables required parts to be ordered more quickly, reducing the amount of time planes are grounded.

The technology will avoid the use of more than 900,000 pieces of paper a year, British Airways said.

It will also enable the airline to predict faults and pre-emptively address issues before they prevent an aircraft from flying.

Andy Best, chief technical officer at British Airways, said: “We’re using the latest technology to help ensure we continue delivering a consistently high standard of service for our customers – always with a focus on safety.

“Our investment in innovative tools like this means we can support our teams to identify and put solutions in place ahead of time.

“By replacing time-consuming manual processes with digital technology we are constantly improving the reliability of our aircraft fleet and, as a result, our customers’ experience.”

The roll-out of the system is part of a £7 billion “transformation investment” by the airline over the next two years.