Assessment of air pollution from Athens International Airport and suggestions for adaptation to new aviation emissions restrictions

In this paper, we investigate the footprint of the operation of Athens International Airport in loads of air pollutants emitted during the Landing-Take Off phase of incoming and outgoing flights. This part of the flight has the distinctive characteristic that it operates in the human environment, at low altitudes, so it directly affects the air quality at the airport and its surroundings by changing the total amounts of air pollutants involved. The present survey covers the period 2002-2019 and only civil aircrafts flights have been considered. In particular, the concentrations mono-nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), unburnt hydrocarbons (HC) and total Particulate Matter (PM) consisting of volatile organic PM, volatile sulphuric PM and non-volatile PM have been studied. According to the results obtained more than 6500 kt of CO2, almost 28 kt of NOx, about 18 kt of CO, almost 1.5 kt of HC and 0.3 kt of PMtotal have been released into the atmosphere during the total operating time of the airport. Actions related to the conduct of new measurements of air pollutants are aimed which point to the reduction of their impacts in the coming years.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the amount of air pollutants emitted by Athens International Airport during the Landing-Take Off phase of flights. The study finds that the airport released significant quantities of CO2, NOx, CO, HC, and PMtotal during its operating time. Measures are planned to reduce the impacts of these pollutants in the future.