view points-december2015

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Copyright © 2015 Momberger Airport Information VIEW Points by Air Trans Source Inc. www.mombergerairport.info

#02 / December 2015

VIEW Points... Published on an occasional basis to complement our biweekly newsletter – available by annual subscription only Editorial & Subscription enquiries - Managing Editor / Publisher: Martin Lamprecht [email protected]

Momberger Airport Information by Air Trans Source Inc. – international news & data – published since 1973

WELCOME to the second edition of Momberger VIEW Points, a

new sister publication of our biweekly international newsletter,

Momberger Airport Information.

We continue with the theme of sustainable

airport development that we began in the

launch issue in August, starting out with an

article based on an exclusive interview with ACI

Europe’s Director General Olivier Jankovec.

His organization initiated ACI’s Airport Carbon

Accreditation program and helped make it a

successful, growing global program.

The feature airport in this issue’s environmental coverage is Puerto

Vallarta, part of Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP). Our

correspondent Tim Haines conducted this exclusive interview on site in

Mexico with Jaime Chema Navarro, Project Deputy Manager at GAP

and Ing. Francisco Villaseñor Reyes, Airport Director at Puerto

Vallarta.

The important issue of airport and airway capacity management

in the sustainability context is presented by Todd Donovan, Director,

ATM Strategy Marketing at Thales.

Finally, Joeri Aulman, Airport Planner at NACO explains how his

company’s Airport Fitness Program can help Airport Sustainability

teams identify the issues which are material to the future growth of

their airport business and how it helps to communicate its efforts to

the world through a sustainability report.

Enjoy reading! Your feedback is always welcome. Martin Lamprecht

The world’s airports

get serious on carbon

reduction……….…....2

Leading the way in

Latin American carbon

accreditation……..…5

Airport Airspace

Capacity

Management.......…7

Airport Sustainability

and the Airport

Fitness Program..…9

TABLE OF CONTENTS

http://www.mombergerairport.info/

mailto:[email protected]

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World’s Airports get serious on Carbon Reduction By Tim Haines

Launched in 2009, the ACI’s Carbon Accreditation program has since become the global carbon standard for airports. ACI-Europe’s Director General Olivier Jankovec says the program’s success shows that the airport industry is collectively taking positive steps in helping to tackle climate change.

Since its launch in Europe just six years ago, the Airport Carbon Accreditation has gone global

and as of the beginning December (2015) has more than 138 accredited airports in 40+

countries under its wing. It’s a level of success that Airports Council International (ACI), did not

anticipate.

As Mr Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI-Europe told

Momberger: “When we set up the program we didn’t have any

targets because we realized that airports are at different stages

in their sustainability development, particularly when it comes

to reducing carbon emissions. When we launched in 2009 we

didn’t expect to achieve these kinds of figures for coverage and

share of passenger traffic so quickly. I am very proud of our

industry as it speaks volumes on how serious airports are about

sustainability. Few other industries have such a track record.”

The program gives airports a common framework for reducing their impact on climate change

and improving their efficiency through a proven methodology that is independently

administered and recognized globally as the industry standard reference for carbon mapping

and management for airports. It also provides a platform for airports to exchange know-how

and experiences, enabling airports to work collectively to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.

Operating costs are reduced

Accreditation can also lead to some compelling benefits, including reduced operating costs,

improved stakeholder engagement, higher staff motivation and credentials to help an airport

secure development funding. Jankovec also points to ‘softer’ benefits that include improved

coordination with airport partners, enhanced public image, reduced regulatory risk and also

changing the public’s image of the airport.

“There are a variety of reasons why airports go for certification. Every airport is unique. Once

you’ve seen one airport, you definitely have not seen the entire airport industry,” quipped

Jankovec.


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“When they enter the program, some airports already have the data they need about their

carbon footprint and are measuring their reductions in emissions, so for them it is about

formalizing and adapting to the program requirements. Smaller airports can lack the technical

expertise and resources in the field; they don’t know where to start. Our ACERT (Airport Carbon

and Emissions Reporting Tool) helps airports to calculate their carbon footprints.”

From LED lighting to green vehicles

Airports can then address their carbon emissions in a variety of ways. Some of the most

effective include switching to LED-based lighting both airside and in terminal buildings,

improving insulation and the energy efficiency of air conditioning, implementing green energy

sources, investing in hybrid, electric or gas-powered service vehicles, and working with airlines

and air traffic control to reduce taxi times and implement green landing processes.

What about the costs of accreditation? “There are three main costs,” answered Jankovec.

“Preparing the carbon footprint forecast, either internally or using a consultant, the fee for

verification of the carbon management plan, and the program participation fees which are

related to the airport’s size and level of participation. Airports don’t really share the returns they

get on this investment but given the level of participation in the program and the fact

that we rarely see airports leaving the scheme, leads me to believe that airports

consider taking part to be worthwhile and that they are recouping the cost.”

Jankovec also pointed out that when airports move up to level 3 of the

programme, renewal is required only once every three years instead of

annually. “Carbon management becomes ingrained and so they don’t

need yearly checks. This in itself is an incentive to progress as

costs decrease.”

Four levels of certification

Airport Carbon Accreditation has four levels of certification. Airports can apply at any level and

can move up levels, sometimes very quickly within a year, or they can take several years to

progress.

‘Mapping’ requires carbon footprint measurement to understand how much carbon the

airport emits every year and from which activities and operations in order to plan how to

limit these emissions. The airport also needs to engage an independent third party to

verify the report before submission, to ensure that the carbon footprint calculation is in

accordance with ISO14064 and accreditation requirements.

‘Reduction’ requires carbon management and progress towards a reduced carbon

footprint. The airport must provide evidence of effective carbon management


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procedures including target setting and show that a reduction in the carbon footprint

has occurred by analyzing the carbon emissions data of consecutive years.

‘Optimisation’ requires carbon footprint reduction to involve third parties that include

airlines and various service providers such as independent ground handlers, catering

companies, air traffic control and others working on the airport site. It also involves

engagement on surface access modes (road, rail) with authorities and users.

‘Neutrality’ requires airports to achieve carbon neutrality by meeting the requirements of

the three lower levels and in addition to offset any residual CO2 emissions under their

direct control. Carbon offsetting is providing funds or resources to other projects that

reduce carbon dioxide so as to make up for the emissions that one is not able to

eliminate. For example, an airport could pay for a wind energy facility that replaces a

coal-fired power plant.

Accreditation is accelerating

With its beginnings in Europe, the Airport Carbon Accreditation program was extended to Asia-

Pacific in 2011, to Africa in 2013 and ultimately went global in November 2014 with its

extension to airports in Latin America and the Caribbean.

“It’s been particularly reassuring to see other ACI regions endorsing the program and joining. In

Africa and Latin America, we don’t have a lot of airports accredited yet although it’s still early

days and they face some additional obstacles. For example, the first airport to gain

accreditation in Latin America is Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, which had to fly in a verifier from

Spain as there were no local verifiers available at the time,” explained Jankovec. “So, one of our

future developments is to create a base of local verifiers in the regions. We also are moving the

entire application process online and making sure it is very user friendly.”

Finally, we ask what advice Jankovec would give to airports considering whether or not to apply

to join the program. “Talk to us and to other airports in the program. In the end the numbers

speak for themselves – In June we announced 125 airports in our sixth year of the programme.

Soon, we'll be at 150.”

“Sometimes it’s difficult to track the actual progress of a sector in carbon management, but we

have proven as an industry that we are working on it, not just talking about it,” he concluded.

About that target

At the recent COP21 climate change negotiations in Paris, Jankovec was invited by the UNFCCC

(the conference organizer) to present Airport Carbon Accreditation as an example of how an

industry can proactively address its carbon footprint. The event yielded to big announcements

for the programme - ACI Europe announced a target of 50 carbon neutral airport by 2030

(there are currently 20 carbon neutral airports in Europe), but also a new partnership with the

UNFCCC to promote carbon neutral and sustainable airports, via Airport Carbon Accreditation.

For more information on Airport Carbon Accreditation, visit www.airportCO2.org


http://www.airportco2.org/

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Leading the way in Latin American carbon

accreditation By Tim Haines

Having gained Latin America’s first Airport

Carbon Accreditation, at Puerto Vallarta, Grupo

Aeroportuario del Pacifico (GAP) has not sat

back to savour its success. In late August 2015

the company won accreditation for a second

airport from its portfolio of destinations,

Tijuana, as well as upgrading Puerto Vallarta’s

Level 1 ‘Mapping’ accreditation to the Level 2 ‘Reduction’ category.

Tourist-dominated Puerto Vallarta is GAP’s fourth largest airport, handling some three million

passengers per year. VIEW Points visited the airport to find out more from Jaime Chema

Navarro, Project Deputy Manager at GAP and Ing. Francisco Villaseñor Reyes, Airport Director

at Puerto Vallarta.

VIEW Points: Why did you decide to pursue ACI carbon certification at such an early stage?

Francisco Villaseñor Reyes: GAP has been developing initiatives to

fulfill our Environmental Policy, which includes measures to reduce

pollution. ACI carbon certification at Puerto Vallarta Airport is our first

step to determine the sources of pollution so we can reduce them. In our

airports, we are highly committed in providing quality services to our

users and stakeholders. The certification demonstrates we are taking

decisive action towards the environment.

VIEW Points: With 12 airports in the group, why did you choose Puerto

Vallarta for the first accreditation?

Francisco Villaseñor Reyes: Puerto Vallarta has in almost every case, been our pilot airport

for starting many programs such as Aerodrome Certification and the FAA’s Safety Management

Systems (SMS) certification and rolling them out to the others in the group. As well as being

able to deal easily with all the stakeholders, it is a medium-scale airport, so if something works

here then it will work in our larger and smaller airports. Puerto Vallarta was a good option for

carbon accreditation because it is in the middle of a city and so reducing carbon emissions will

be good for everybody nearby.

VIEW Points: How straightforward was the carbon mapping process?


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Jaime Chema Navarro: We took the decision to include only our own emissions and not

those of other stakeholders because although we wanted to include the wider community, the

first step is to show that we are taking care of our own business.

To detect any opportunity areas in our use of electricity and fuels we first had to organize and

match all the information about our consumption, for example from fuel receipts. This was the

biggest area of work for us and took one-and-a-half to two months to gain accreditation.

Another issue we had was that there were no verifiers available in the region. So we had to

invite an official verifier in from Spain.

VIEW Points: You have just progressed to level 2 of the accreditation which focuses on

reduction of carbon emissions. What measures are you implementing and what benefits have

you seen?

Jaime Chema Navarro: Level 2 is more difficult as we needed to develop a plan and apply

measures that reduced emissions while maintaining the comfort levels of users despite the

region’s hot climate, and which also gave us a good return on investment. We analyzed the

priorities and decided that the terminal building’s dehumidifiers and insulation were good

targets. We invested in a crystal-based insulation material for the walls that helps us to

maintain a constant environment throughout the building and has resulted in 50% less running

time for the air conditioning. We could see the results of these measures very quickly, within

three months.

Other investments included replacing a couple of our older vehicles that the operations team

uses.

Using the Airport Carbon and Emissions Reporting Tool (ACERT)

tool from the ACI, we were able to detect opportunity areas and

we developed a Carbon Management Plan that the verifier used to

compare against our actual performance as part of the level 2

accreditation. The plan focuses on reducing the emissions that are

under the airport’s control, such as energy and fuel consumption.

The objective is to reduce 5% of the emissions in the first year

and 2% in the following years, in 2014 compared to 2013 we

exceeded the target and achieved a reduction of 10%.

VIEW Points: What are the next steps for you and what other technologies are you looking at,

for example LED lighting?

Jaime Chema Navarro: The next level, which is Level 3 – Optimization, requires the

involvement of the other stakeholders at the airport. They also will need to identify their

sources, develop their inventory and apply measures in order to reduce their own emissions.


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This is a big challenge for GAP and Puerto Vallarta Airport; we are currently developing

strategies to work together with the other stakeholders to help them achieve the same 52%

year-on-year reduction.

LED technologies have been implemented in GAP airports, not only on the airfields, but also in

buildings and access roads. At Puerto Vallarta we have LED lighting on the taxiways and the

next step would be to implement LED for the runway and approach lighting to increase our

carbon saving.

VIEW Points: Based on your experience of ACI

certification, what advice do you have for other

airports that are just starting their certification

process or are undecided whether to do it?

Francisco Villaseñor Reyes: ACI certification will

enable you to innovate and discover areas in which

you may have an opportunity to develop better practices. The process of certification is

relatively easy and the program ACERT developed by ACI helps to make the process cost

effective.

We highly recommend that other airports participate in the program so that the information

generated allows the contribution of airports to the global aviation carbon footprint to be

determined.

Airport and Airspace Capacity Management by Todd Donovan, Director, ATM Strategy Marketing at Thales

Airport capacity management is a complex activity which must balance many

constraints and objectives—safety, airport access, flight efficiency, environmental

impact, human performance, economics, fairness and many more. All aviation

stakeholders need to maintain flexibility to adapt to minor changes and major

disruptions which may arise. Thales understands these challenges and offers

integrated solutions to facilitate effective delivery of this optimization—including

systems such as TopSky-ATC and TopSky-Tower.

The most substantial and pervasive demand capacity imbalance issues emanate from airport

and terminal maneuvering area capacity constraints at the world’s busiest airports. Demand at

these facilities approaches, or even exceeds, nominal capacity during peak periods of the day.

Any perturbation in capacity results in a shock to the local system which often ripples to other


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facilities in the highly interconnected aviation network. Ground delays, airborne holding and

cancellations follow. Thus, ensuring full use of the available capacity is paramount.

Separation management is the most critical ATC

function in managing flight operations.

Unfortunately, that which is good for safety, large

separations, is bad for airport capacity. Therefore,

determining and utilizing the minimum safe aircraft

separations is crucial for operations at capacity-

constrained airports.

Careful management of separation is necessary

during both takeoffs and landings because aircraft

create wake vortices, turbulence that disturbs or

even endangers following aircraft. Safe separation

distances depend on size and weight of preceding

aircraft relative to size and weight of following

aircraft. Wind speed and direction also matter. Crosswinds shift wake vortices out of flight

paths and headwinds hasten their decay.

Static distance-based separation is the most common and least optimized approach to

separation. Currently, four standard wake turbulence categories are defined and a specific

separation distance is applied between one aircraft trailing another aircraft based on these

wake turbulence categories. Industry is working to standardize and provide guidance for new

schemes that include more granular categorizations as well as a shift from static to dynamic

concepts. These new categorizations are to be deployed in steps, called RECAT I, II and III,

and are expected to substantially boost runway capacity.

In addition to the categorization changes, switching from distance-based separation to time-

based separation (TBS) can also help preserve airport capacity. When aircraft land into a

strong headwind, the aircraft’s ground speed is reduced resulting in more time per landing and

thus lower runway utilization. It is possible to preserve the runway capacity by translating the

separation distance to separation time and managing the separation according to time. This

time-base separation can be applied in conjunction with today’s distance-based separations or

with any of the RECAT separation concepts in order to preserve the airport capacity.

Once safe separation is assured, capacity and efficiency optimization is the next imperative.

Whether for flight departures (managed by air traffic control tower) or flight arrivals (managed

by the approach control center), metering and sequencing tools are used to continuously

balance demand and capacity thus ensuring optimal resource usage. Demand / capacity

imbalance materialize frequently—due to overscheduling, flight variability, runway closures or a

variety of other normal operational issues. The sequencing and metering tools embedded in

TopSky-ATC and TopSky-Tower provide tactical controllers as well as planning and supervisory

positions the tools needed to manage this issue in a continuous process. To illustrate this point,


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consider the case when two A380s and two A320s are together in the arrival sequence.

Sequencing the A380s to follow one another and the A320s to follow one another can increase

runway throughput by up to 25% compared to the case where one A320 is placed between the

A380s.

Thales, as the leader of the SESAR project “Runway Wake Vortex Detection, Prediction and

decision support tools,” is developing and validating these concepts. The output of this effort is

TopSky-ATC and TopSky-Tower enhancements including intuitive controller display features and

advanced processing algorithms which enable safe implementation of these advanced, airport-

capacity enhancing concepts. Dynamic, intuitive indicators help controllers visualize the

sequence of flights and separation standard to be applied. Controllers receive timely warnings

and alerts to help them know when action is required to prevent infringement of the minimum

separation standards. All these capabilities allow air traffic controllers to face the challenges of

airport capacity management in a less stressful, safer and more efficient way.

Advertisement – more information online: www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/aerospace/air-traffic-management

Airport Sustainability - The Airport Fitness Program By Joeri Aulman, Airport Planner, NACO

In line with the call for international cooperation in the previous

issue of VIEW Points to make airports more sustainable and avoid

conflicts with local stakeholders and environmental regulators,

Royal HaskoningDHV company ‘NACO, Netherlands Airport

Consultants’ (NACO), has been given a platform in this issue to

explain more about its ‘Airport Fitness Programme’ – ensuring an

airport’s sustainable growth.

The program, developed in-house by Majidah Hashim and rolled out by Vivekanandhan

Sindhamani and the author, Joeri Aulman, is a practical guide to achieve real benefit from

Sustainablility for your airport business. It assists airports in cultivating strong and value-driven

management strategies, as well as institute productive and longterm relationships with their

stakeholders.


http://www.thalesgroup.com/en/worldwide/aerospace/air-traffic-management

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Introduction

There are a number of triggers that brought NACO to invest time and resources in an initiative

that resulted ultimately in the Airport Fitness Programme. One of these triggers was the

increased pressure on Airport Management around the globe from social stakeholders and

environmental groups.

A fitting example is mentioned by Birmingham Airport

CEO Paul Kehoe in the previous issue of VIEW Points;

the delay suffered by the airport when a rare crayfish

was discovered in a creek on the site of the airport’s

runway-extension.

And Mike Kilburn, Senior Manager of Environment at

Airport Authority Hong Kong also highlighted that

sustainable initiatives at HKIA make sound business

sense. He was able to bring this to the notice of his

management when a growing environmental awareness in Hong Kong led to protests regarding

the possible adverse effects of a new (reclaimed) third runway on the habitat of the rare

Chinese White Dolphin. Only after the airport management offered new and additional plans to

protect the marine ecology, did the environmental clearance get issued in November 2014.

Neither for Birmingham, nor for HKIA, had there been a compulsion to undertake a

comprehensive Sustainability Program in the years leading up to the controversy. This meant

that the airports were ill-

prepared when faced with the

social and environmental issues

that ultimately cost the airports

time and money. The airports

have now, thanks to a ‘Trigger

Event’, (see diagram) come to

realize a more pro-active stance

on Sustainability that will

enhance their airport’s ‘fitness’

and allow it to address such

issues in the early planning

phase when the time and cost

implications are limited.

How relevant?

The realization that a pro-active stance on Sustainability will be beneficial to your airport

business may not be every airport manager’s conviction, but very soon the legislator and

regulator will have put requirements into place which will compel all to fall in line with this new

How fit is your airport?

CLASSICOrientation: Inactive

DEFENSIVEOrientation: Reactive

STRATEGICOrientation: Active

SOCIETALOrientation: Pro Active

INTERNAL ALIGNMENT

EXTERNAL ALIGNMENT

TRIGGER EVENT

INTERNAL ALIGNMENT

How can sustainability make my airport fitter?

How do we manage our

stakeholders?

Let’s address these sustainability gaps!

My airport has been doing

sustainability for five years

already!

Launch of the Airport Fitness Programme at Paris

Expo (NACO photo)


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mantra, both in the developed, as well the developing

world. For example, in 2014 the Indian Directorate

General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) commissioned the

Netherlands Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) to undertake

a pilot noise study for Indira Gandhi International

Airport including noise mapping, measurement and

suggestions for noise abatement measures. Through

empirical research the NLR team, consisting of Lennard Verhoeff, Roel Hogenhuis and

Vivekanandhan Sindhamani, registered the noise levels at the thresholds of the runways and

selected points in the city. They also trained airport staff on techniques for future monitoring

and reporting of the same.

Based on the outcome of the study, DGCA developed guidelines with regards to noise

monitoring and measurements at airports and issued a circular in 2014 suggesting that all

airports in India, having more than 50,000 aircraft movements per annum, shall develop an

Airport Noise Management System.

How does the program work?

A pro-active stance on integrating stakeholder concerns in the planning stage of projects is

inherently engrained in NACO’s origins in The

Netherlands; a small, packed country which

relies on the resolve of common issues and

threats. As pressure builds on airport

management from social stakeholders and

environmental groups, this focus on integrating

the concerns of these stakeholders has become

increasingly more important. NACO’s reputation

in this regard earned it a role as appointed

consultant for the Global Reporting Initiative

(GRI) development of the Airport Operators’

Sector Supplement (AOSS). Together with a

multi-stakeholder working group, it created the

most widely used framework for airport

sustainability reporting used in the world today.

This experience formed the basis of the Airport Fitness Program, developed around the principal

that ‘Sustainability makes great business sense’:

Demonstrated responsible corporate governance Enhanced risk management License to grow

SUSTAINABILITY MAKES

GREAT BUSINESS SENSE

CONNECTING WHAT IS NOT CONNECTED

Ensure business &

profit continuity

Enhance risk management

Encourage win-win

dialogues with stakeholders

Gain competitive

edge

Remove obstacles to

growth

Demonstrate responsible governance

© NACO, 2014


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The Airport Fitness Program can help Airports’ Sustainability teams identify the issues which are

material to the future growth of their airport business and helps to communicate its efforts to

the world through a sustainability report.

The program makes available the technical planning know-how to identify the issues and

develop the mitigation measures, coupled with the financial analysis tools to quantify the impact

on your business case.

The following diagram visualizes how the Airport Fitness Program is not about merely

developing measures to mitigate adverse effects, but to ‘do more good’ by seeking win-win

solutions and adding value.

Although a picture speaks a thousand words, the practical application of the Airport Fitness

Program can best be illustrated by Case Studies.

Create partners:Prospering with the community

Positive Impacts:

Improve environment

Make Money:

Become a profit generating economic

system

Doing more good:Add value

Save money:Avoid

unnecessary spending

Manage impacts:

Of operations

Manage stakeholders:

Passengers, airlines,

regulators, employees, local communities etc

© NACO, 2015

Employee development

Service excellence

Community programs

Carbon Emissions

Noisemanagement

Biodiversity Investments

Capacity

Politicalsupport

Doing less bad: Mitigation


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Case studies

The below diagram outlines last year’s top ten issues that were found material to airports’

future growth & profitability.

To understand how the issues were dealt with in the philosophy of the ‘Airport Fitness

Program’, a case study is hereby featured for each issue:

Service Excellence

Over the past 5 years, Helsinki Airport, in close coordination with Fin Air, has managed to

position itself as an alternative transfer-hub for flights from Asia to destinations in Europe.

However, it realized that convenient flight-connection times are not the only condition for

success; the airport needed to assure that the growing number of connecting passengers could

smoothly and hassle-free transfer through the terminal’s different filters and areas. NACO

assisted in this by checking the terminal expansion design, using passenger simulation

software. Filters such as immigration and security were checked if they could accommodate the

peak loads, based on future flight schedules. Such validation of capacity will assure that the

vital service excellence can be achieved which the airport will need to stay ahead of the

game in this highly competitive transfer market.

SAFETY

SECURITY

SERVICE EXCELLENCE

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS

EMISSIONS

NOISE

CLIMATE CHANGE

ADAPTATION

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

CAPACITY/ PROFITABILITY


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Airport Fitness Program result: Do not only improve capacity to meet service levels, but assure

that a greater goal is achieved. Do more good, add value.

Safety

The Caribbean Island Airport of Bonaire for many years operated with compliance-exemptions

granted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for existing airports. With the

help of NACO, finally a master plan was developed that identified not only the airside

improvements required to accommodate the forecasted aircraft types but also the steps to be

taken to make the airport fully compliant. This included an assessment of runway strip and the

resulting implications for adjacent facilities. Thus the airport was able to undertake an Airside

upgrade that meets all safety and capacity requirements.

A roadmap to a balanced Capacity & Capability of airport facilities was laid out for the client and

the airport was developed accordingly. In line with the philosophy of the ‘Airport Fitness

Programme’ safety was improved, but embedded in a general upgrade of the airport and its

capacity to grow. Do more good, add value.

Security

Since the 1960’s, NACO has been assisting Schiphol with developments ranging from planning

and design to construction supervision of various extensions and renovations. Stemming from

the need for increased security and immigration facilities and procedures, and the desire to

remain Europe’s preferred airport, Schiphol asked NACO to provide new and additional advice

on passenger flow simulations related to these areas of concern. With the aid of simulation

software, NACO demonstrated to Schiphol the effectiveness of proposed bank-lining when

conditions are desirable and how operations management could contribute to reducing queuing

times. This did not only improve the security process, due to a reduction of crowding near the

filters, it also increased passenger satisfaction; a win-win situation, in line with the Airport

Fitness Program philosophy. Do more good, add value.

Climate Change Adaptation

Climate Change has resulted in more extreme weather patterns across the globe. In 2011 the

city of Bangkok experienced one of the worst floods in its history and the whole city was

inundated. The only exception was the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, which was able to

continue full operations and accommodate the huge demand for evacuations and import of

emergency supplies for the city.

It was NACO’s design from 2006, inspired by the Dutch polder-system that assured

embankments kept the flood water at bay and pumping stations took care of any excess water

that did come into the operational area of the airport. It was not the Climate-proof argument

that had convinced the airport authorities to adopt NACO’s design some 15 years ago, but the

added advantage that the polder-design avoided the need for raising the entire site at great

cost. Now this decision has not only avoided great damage to the facilities and business of the


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airport, but proved to be a great boon to the countries resilience whilst faced with catastrophe.

The Airport Fitness Programme philosophy ‘Do more good, add value’, avant la lettre.

Employee Relations

Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) was the original client that first recognized the merit of

the Airport Fitness Programme. Together with its Sustainability team and management, we

explored how it could ‘trim the fat’ off of some of its processes by enabling more partnering and

communication between its departments to explore functions that could be coupled, instead of

each department performing them independently. This then allowed the freed up resources to

re-interpret the function and take to a higher level. For instance, there were several airport

departments engaged with collecting and interpreting data and statistics, such as Operations,

Master Planning, Commercial. Our suggestion to concentrate the data-gathering function, freed

up a number of staff to purely concentrate on interpretation of data for their respective

purposes. DIAL realized that this would allow these employees to work to their fuller potential

with increased job-satisfaction. The Airport Fitness Program did not just trim the fat of the

organization, but helped build muscle and generate endorphins; Do more good, add value.

Emissions

The management of Kunming International Airport, China, realized that scenes witnessed by

Beijing and Shanghai airports of flights needing to be diverted due to smog-induced low-

visibility, would be detrimental to the airport’s operations and business. It hired NACO to

perform a study on how emissions could be reduced. NACO’s simulation study focused on

minimizing taxiway distances for aircraft, to not only reduce emissions, but also bring down

fuel costs for the airlines; a ‘win-win’ situation, in line with the Airport Fitness Program

philosophy. Do more good, add value.

Noise

In terms of managing impacts, Delhi International Airport was already impressed with how our

experts had implemented noise mapping, measurement and suggestions for noise abatement

measures at the airport, long before the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)

issued a circular in 2014 (inspired by this work) to have this prescribed for all Indian Airports,

having more than 50,000 aircraft movements per annum. The advantage of thus having a

head-start on other airports, invigorated the DIAL team to understand how further impacts of

its airport’s operations can be mitigated ‘avant la lettre’. This would then allow the airport to go

beyond merely mitigating, but graduate to prevention and even turning negative spirals around

into positive ones;

For instance, having noise-reducing new approach-strategies also saves fuel and thus costs

for airlines or creating green sound barriers that also positively contribute to the local micro-

climate of its surroundings, creating win-win situations, as per the Airport Fitness Program

philosophy ‘Do more good, add value’.


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Community Relations

Jinwan District in China invited NACO to work out a plan for Zhuhai Airport’s Core Area

Development and Utilization. One of the important aspects we introduced in the approach was a

program for stake holder engagement.

The city of Zhuhai is positioned at a beautiful coastal location, close to Hong Kong. In the past,

this area has been developed with a high focus on quality. While this focus tempered growth of

the city, it is now regarded to be the strength of the area: For further development the quality

ambition is carefully maintained and the city is aiming for sustainable development.

The NACO team worked in close cooperation with stakeholders to introduce our ideas and check

the likelihood of their acceptance. Normally, input from stakeholders is well facilitated in China

by the client and also in this case the mayor personally chaired several stakeholder meetings.

We took their engagement a step further; our team listened to all stakeholders very closely, to

ensure they understood their interests and concerns etc., we asked for input and discussed

ideas with them during the process. This two-way engagement was a successful approach. It

prevented misunderstandings and surprises and it reduced resistance in the final stage from the

communities surrounding the airport. Talking about relations; the mayor of Zhuhai was so

pleased with the work that he instructed the city to establish a strategic collaboration with

NACO to keep us engaged in the next phases of the development.

Resource Management

Brazil has developed stringent environmental criteria over the past decades to protect its

natural resources. When our client won the concession to develop the Sao Paulo Viracopos

Airport, special attention was paid to sustainability. Photo-voltaic roof panels, reusable water

and an energy efficient mechanical and electrical system were incorporated into the Terminal

design by NACO. Environmental impact on the surrounding area was considered carefully to

meet the stringent environmental agency criteria. In addition, an airport city plan was

developed with full integration of a future rail-link to the city, to minimize the dependence on

fossil-fuel powered vehicles for access to the airport. This approach to resource

management has resulted in the necessary permits & approvals to keep growing the airport’s

capacity in line with the forecast. Airport Fitness Programme result: A license to operate & an

assurance of sustainable growth. Do more good, add value.

Economic Performance

Pieter van der Horst, Senior Airport City & Real Estate Developer at Schiphol Airport, has

understood the merits of a more holistic approach to issues such as sustainability and applies it

to his field of area development. ‘Sustainable area development is more than a collection of

eco-friendly buildings’. But the tools of measuring and nurturing sustainable development are in

short supply and existing rules & regulations lack the required flexibility. This is the reason why


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neither the Market nor the Regulator or even the Academic world is able to give sustainable

area development the platform it deserves.

Nonetheless Pieter van der Horst has been implementing the same at Schiphol’s core Airport

City to try and go beyond the mere focus on energy-efficient buildings:

Go through a check-list of sustainable measures that could be implemented and assess their usefulness for the development in question (every context is different).

Assure that each stage of the development is self-sustaining & attractive to the end-user and not dependent on facilities planned at later stages.

Incremental growth, so early investments can be kept to a minimum and next stage investments are off-set with revenues earned from the earlier phase.

This has resulted in a Schiphol’s Airport City having ample space for water and green areas,

good cycle-accessibility, integrated functions & facilities with ample synergies and good public

transport solutions and an attractive spatial design. Ultimately this has assured continued

commitment from both the investors as well as the tenants, contributing to the airport’s

economic performance.

In conclusion, we hope to have sufficiently established that the benefits of the program are

manifold and will help airports mitigate current and future impacts and assure the financial

Sustainability of the airport asset.

Author: J.N. Aulman MSc (Joeri), Airport Planner - NACO, Netherlands Airport Consultants (a company of Royal

HaskoningDHV); Email: [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

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