8.5.1: Sources of environmental impact

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Attending to its geographical range, the different impact sources can be classified into Benito and Benito [3]:

Local effects
    – Noise.
    – Local air pollution.
    – Use of surrounding areas.
Global effects
    – Consumption of non-recyclable materials.
    – Use of airspace and radio-electric spectrum.
    – Contribution to climate change.

Local effects referred to those effects that are only perceptible in the vicinity of airports. This includes noise nuisance due to aircraft operations (mainly take off and landing), the air pollution due to the airport activity, and also the use of areas for the purpose of airport activity, e.g, areas with bird colonies or natural interest.

On the other hand, global effects refer to those effects that affect the sustainability of the planet worldwide. Among this, we can cite the consumption of non-recyclable materials that are finite and, moreover, need to be stored somewhere after the life-cycle, the use of airspace by aircraft and electromagnetic waves emitted by navigation services and aircraft to provide communication, navigation, and surveillance services, and the contribution of the industry to global warming.

In the sequel, the focus will be on aircraft operations’ environmental impact, namely noise and emissions (\(CO_2\), \(NO_x\), etc.) that contribute to climate change.