Contribution of Airplane Engine Emissions on the Local Air Quality around Stuttgart Airport during and after COVID-19 Lockdown Measures

Air quality investigations at airports have shown that aircrafts cause a significant increase in air pollution at and around the vicinity of the airport, which can cause adverse effects on human health. The objective of this research was to investigate the aircraft-sourced pollutant levels at the Stuttgart airport and in the surrounding areas during and after COVID-19 lockdown measures. Three phases of stationary measurements of ultrafine particles (UFP), particulate matter (PM), black carbon (BC), CO2, O-3, NO, and NO2 were made at various points on the east and west sides of the airport in the extension of the airport runway. In first phase of measurement, the airport was closed for construction, and no air traffic took place. In the second phase, the airport was reopened with limited operation due to a lockdown period at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, in the third phase, measurements were performed during the peak summer holiday travel season to measure the air quality during maximum air traffic, after the end of the first lockdown period. While there were fewer notable changes in the BC concentrations, coarse PM fractions, and gases across the three phases, there were significant increases in the UFP concentrations from aircraft emissions. Throughout the three phases, the peak particle concentration decreased from between 27 and 86 nm in phase 1. to between 27 and 35 nm in phase 2, to finally 11 nm in phase 3 on all days in which the aircraft plumes were measured. During flight arrivals, definite increases in UFP particle number concentration (PNC) were observed, with the majority of the particles being in the 10 nm size class. These results were measured repeatedly on both sides of the airport in the direct prolongation of the runway and even at distances of up to 3 km away in nearby neighbouring communities. While the overall PM and UFP levels are affected by vehicular traffic, the freeway measurements showed particles from aircrafts and vehicles are distinguishable using the parameters PNC and D-p. The BC concentrations were rarely influenced by aircraft activity, while only some NO and NO2 peaks were measured depending on the consistency of the wind.

Automated summary

Air quality investigations at airports have shown that aircrafts cause a significant increase in air pollution, especially in ultrafine particle concentrations. The concentrations of coarse particles and gases do not show notable changes. During aircraft arrivals, there is a definite increase in particle concentration, particularly in the 10nm size class. Furthermore, parameters such as PNC and D-p can be used to distinguish between particles from aircrafts and vehicles, while the influence of aircraft activity on BC concentrations is minimal.