Managing Air Pollution at Airports

Airport managers have many things they need to consider and account for when helping run operations at an airport. When acknowledging the environmental impacts that an airport can have, the airport manager must show their concern and efforts to best prevent and limit the effects the airport has on the environment. The four main categories of pollution that an airport will need to address are air, noise, light, and water/land pollution. Among those four categories, one of the most important environmental impacts that airport managers have to face is air pollution. The attention of this is typically drawn to the airplanes themselves and their emissions since they’re the main contributor of air pollution at an airport, but can also include the equipment and vehicles used to service aircraft, the pollution generated from the building itself, and even the airport-related traffic leading into and out of the airport.

As with any air pollution, it has a steady contribution to global warming. For humans and many animals with prolonged exposure, air pollution can slowly increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung disease, and cancer (Aviation Environment Federation, 2021). Plants are also impacted by air pollution. One way is that it can negatively impact plant biodiversity (Aviation Environment Federation, 2021).These issues can come about in areas around the airport and areas downwind from the airport (Schlenker & Walker, 2011).

One strategy that can be used to help negate or nullify the effects of air pollution is by switching to more environmentally friendly engines such as electric. In doing so, the direct impact of aircraft pollution flips. There is almost no air pollution produced from electric engines which can reduce the amount of air pollution added into the local environment. A similar strategy can be applied when considering other areas of an airport. Switching to renewable energy systems for the building and equipment used at the airport can also reduce the amount of emissions exerted into the atmosphere (FAA, 2021).

References

Aviation Environment Federation. (2021, July 30). Air pollution.                                                  

https://www.aef.org.uk/what-we-do/air-pollution/

FAA. (2021, October 13). Airport Carbon Emissions Reduction. Federal Aviation 

Administration. 

https://www.faa.gov/airports/environmental/air_quality/carbon_emissions_reduction/

Schlenker, W., & Walker, W. (2011, December). AIRPORTS, AIR POLLUTION, AND 

CONTEMPORANEOUS HEALTH (No. 17684). National Bureau of Economic Research. 

https://doi.org/10.3386/w17684