Some 3.7 million of these came from reducing plastic cutlery packs. Tui has also slimmed the plastic wrapping on its onboard headphones, replaced plastic blanket wrapping with paper sleeves and stopped providing plastic bags for onboard shopping purchases.

Tui has committed to reducing single-use plastics across its airline operations by 40 million items by 2020, part of its group-wide plan to cut 250 million single-use plastics over the same period.

Initiatives include new children’s activity kits available on long-haul flights, which now come in a paper envelope and feature games suitable for children aged three to 10 that encourage youngsters to think about how they can help reduce plastic waste during their holidays.

Tui has also created new sustainable amenity kits, which are now supplied in a reusable bag made from recycled plastic bottles. The new kits have contributed to a net reduction in single-use plastic items of around one million.

“Tui is currently well positioned to deliver solutions making our holiday offers even more eco-friendly,” said Thomas Ellerbeck, a member of Tui Group’s executive committee for sustainability.

Jill Nye, director of in-flight services for Tui Aviation, added: “We are proud to be among the most carbon-efficient airlines in the skies and are committed to making our onboard operation as efficient and sustainable as we possibly can too.

"We have been working extremely hard to reduce plastic use on aircraft and have many other initiatives in place to reduce waste and integrate sustainable practices."