The Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL) will now have to ensure that there are continuous monitoring stations to determine pollutants in the air as well as usage of mobile stations for measuring air quality, inside and outside the airport, according to the latest Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR), issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
To ‘manage the adverse impact of aviation activities on the atmosphere’, DGCA issued a CAR on March 2, which airports like the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai will have to follow in order to reduce reduce emission and fuel consumption. Respective airport operators will also have to submit an annual emission management report each year.
Emissions from aircraft, up to 1,000 feet above the ground, mainly influence the local air quality and are dispersed with the wind and blend with emissions from other sources like emissions from domestic sources, industries and surface transport, stated the CAR. “The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has recognised that airport-related sources of emissions have the ability to emit pollutants leading to the degradation of air quality in the local community. This CAR stipulates the general requirements, procedures and practices to be adhered to by all stakeholders engaged in activities, which directly or indirectly impact climate change and local air quality around airports,” said M Sathyavathi, Director General of Civil Aviation.
Airport operators have also been asked to use alternative fuels and renewable energy like solar energy, and reduce emission by changing operating times or procedures and proper weight management on the aircraft for fuel management.
In the emission management report, to be submitted by the airport by March each year, the airport operator has to provide details like electricity consumption for the entire airport, fuel consumption of all vehicles at the airport. Currently, CSIA has one stationery air quality monitoring system at the airside.
According to MIAL spokesperson, replacing conventional bulbs with LED at various locations of the airport has helped in reducing 200 tonnes of carbon emission per year, using occupancy sensors in office spaces has reduced energy consumption. This week, CSIA received the ‘Airport Carbon Accreditation Level III’ (optimisation) accreditation by the Airport Council International (ACI).
To optimise fuel consumption, as a pilot project, 10 vehicles earlier using diesel and petrol have been replaced with CNG and only electric vehicles are permitted in the baggage operations area of Terminal 2. “The airport has introduced measures such as relocating the rapid exit taxiways, introducing single engine taxing, encouraging rolling take offs to help the aircraft to vacate the runway sooner and also in reducing the ground manoeuvring of the aircraft, resulting in less aviation turbine fuel consumption,” the spokesperson said.
