Environment

At Swedavia, we decided early on to be really good at environmental issues in our area of responsibility, that is, running airports. Today we are an international role model in developing climate-smart airports.

The focus of Swedavia’s environmental work is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, minimise energy use and reduce atmospheric emissions and discharges to water from our own operations. We also work systematically with aviation noise issues.

Along with these concrete measures, we take a broader industry perspective on environmental issues. We monitor the overall environmental impact of a flight and are a strong driver in the work focused on aviation emissions and noise exposure.

In 2006, Swedavia was one of the first large Swedish companies that chose to become climate-neutral. This also means that Bromma Stockholm Airport’s operations today are run without contributing any negative impact to climate change. This is a positive trend that we are proud of, but one that we will also continue.

How we are regulated

The airport has a permit for running its operations, in compliance with environmental laws. The permit determines the framework for how and to what extent operations may be run. The permit sets a number of specific conditions. Most conditions at Bromma are related to noise.

Among other conditions, there is a noise curve that specifies what noise levels are allowed in the vicinity of the airport. There is also a condition for how much noise a single aircraft may make in order for it to land at the airport.

Along with the permit and its conditions, the airport is also governed by its agreement with the City of Stockholm. Among other conditions, the agreement sets the number of take-offs and landings allowed.

Our zero vision

In 2020, Swedavia reached its goal of zero fossil carbon dioxide emissions from its own airport operations.

There is extensive work behind our success in achieving zero fossil carbon dioxide emissions. We purchase green electricity for all of our operations, our uninterruptible power supply runs on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), our vehicle fleet runs on HVO, fossil-free gas or green electricity, and we purchase biogasol and biogas.

Read more about our work with our zero emissions goal, what else we do and what you can do to contribute to aviation’s transition to net zero operations.

Expanded climate work

All of Swedavia’s airports are accredited at the ACA 3+ level in accordance with Airport Council International (ACI) Europe’s standards for the climate work of airports. That means our airports continuously reduce fossil carbon dioxide emissions from their own operations, offset the emissions that have not yet been reduced and help other businesses operating at the airports to reduce their emissions. At the end of 2020, we achieved our fossil carbon dioxide emissions goal for the airport operations run under our own management. 

The next goal is to have all the airports accredited at the ACA 4+ level, which means that agents for de-icing runways/aircraft and coolants will be included in the measurements. We shall also work to a greater extent to engage and work together with other companies and organisations that have significant carbon dioxide emissions at the airports in order to continue reducing emissions together. Over time, all the operations at our airports will switch to renewable energy sources. This work is in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s goal not to exceed a 1.5 C degree rise in global warming as well as Swedavia’s strategy and goals for proactive climate change adaptation.

You can read more about the programme here.

Green approaches

Green approaches are also used at Bromma to the extent this possible. In a green approach, the aircraft descends at a continuous rate down to the landing runway. In doing so, it needs scarcely any jet thrust, which saves both fuel and emissions. About 30 per cent of the landings here are green landings from an altitude of 5,000 feet.

Links:

Certification programme
Certificate Stockholm Bromma Airport (in Swedish)

Atmospheric pollutants

The aim of the measurements is to study where the highest concentrations are found at the airport and make sure that no limit values are exceeded. The measurements show concentrations below the limit values in effect at all measurement points.

We are sometimes asked whether the aircraft that serve our airport release jet fuel on their approach and departure. They do not. None of the aircraft types that serve Bromma have the technological capability to release jet fuel by emptying their fuel tanks. Aircraft engines also have a high degree of efficiency, which means they produce minimal emissions of uncombusted fuel in flight.

Soot and particulate matter are almost completely eliminated with modern aircraft engines. In Stockholm, it is mainly road traffic and wood fires that contribute to soot concentrations. That was a finding in the 2015 annual report on air in Stockholm, which the City of Stockholm Environmental and Health Administration produced in partnership with the air and noise analysis unit SLB-analys.

Noise is highest priority environmental issue

Bromma Airport is a city airport, and that means people reside in the vicinity of the airport who may be affected by operations. The noise issue is Bromma Airport’s highest priority environmental issue, and we work continuously to find possibilities to reduce noise levels in nearby residential areas. Bromma Stockholm Airport strives to maintain a good dialogue with our neighbours. We hold neighbourhood meetings on a regular basis, where there is discussion about what the airport can do to minimise potential disruptions.

Bromma Airport’s environmental permit specifies a maximum decibel level for aircraft when taking off or landing at the airport. This is monitored by making sure airlines provide a so-called noise certificate for each aircraft.

All chemicals used at Bromma are registered in Swedavia’s chemicals register. The register includes safety data sheets that specify how each chemical should be handled and how such waste should be disposed of.

Chemicals audit is carried out annually

There is also a chemicals group at Bromma that manages chemicals and makes all purchases so that chemicals are handled in a controlled manner. Each year, a chemicals audit is carried out at the airport to ensure that chemicals are stored and handled in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.

De-icing of aircraft and anti-skid treatment of runways

Most discharges to water at the airport occur in winter, when aircraft are de-iced and runways are given anti-skid treatment for safety reasons. The de-icing of aircraft uses monopropylene glycol and water. Runways are treated with formiate, a kind of salt.

Monopropylene glycol and formiate are not toxic and break down easily in nature. But a lot of oxygen is needed for this, and the agents may therefore cause oxygen depletion in waterways if large quantities are discharged. The airport works to reduce these discharges. Bromma samples both surface water and wastewater to check our discharges of oxygen-depleting substances, metals and other organic compounds.

2020

Environmental report Bromma Stockholm Airport (in Swedish)
Appendix 1 – Traffic and aviation noise (in Swedish)
Appendix 2 – Ground noise (in Swedish)
Appendix 2.1 – Actual figures, day Jan-Oct (in Swedish)
Appendix 2.2 – Actual figures, day Nov-Dec (in Swedish)
Appendix 2.3 – Actual figures, night Jan-Oct (in Swedish)
Appendix 2.4 – Actual figures, night Nov-Dec (in Swedish)
Appendix 3 – Insulation based on 2019 traffic (in Swedish)
Appendix 3.1 – Data (in Swedish)

For information about aircraft movements, Swedavia currently suggests that people use public tools such as Flightradar24.com.

The Webtrak tool that we previously made available here on our website is being reviewed, and we are exploring the possibilities of using other data sources. This is in order to once again enable people living in the vicinity of our airports to track air traffic movements. It will also be possible to connect this information to aviation noise measurements where available.