Tailoring climate change information to assess the vulnerability of Greek airports, in support of prioritising adaptation measures

This study assesses the vulnerability of Greek airports to the impacts of future climate change. Its key aim is to increase the understanding and usability of climate information for airport operators and airlines. The extraction of relevant climate change information from published, and in-house produced, scientific data is therefore informed by a dialogue with the end-users and thus tailored by the needs of the airport operators. The vulnerability assessment methodology uses risk categories and, specifically, critical climate change threshold values concerning airport infrastructure. The approach is aligned with the current airport industry standard as outlined in “ACI Policy Brief – Airport’s Resilience and Adaptation to a Changing Climate (2018)”. The vulnerability matrix has been adapted to the Greek situation and may be used in future regional infrastructure reviews.

This study used projected climate change data from: (i) the Greek “Regional Adaptation Action Plans” (RAAPS), (ii) the national climate change adaptation strategy, developed in the framework of the EU integrated project “LIFE-IP AdaptInGR” (https://www.adaptivegreece.gr), and (iii) the assessment of the impacts of climate change and extremes in Greece derived from the nationally funded CLIMPACT project (www.climpact.gr). Extreme weather trends were assessed using up-to-date climate change projections on a regional scale. Specific reference is made to considerations of whether design inputs/standards for infrastructure works are likely to change in the future.

This vulnerability study addresses the need for the early identification of climate change risks associated with Greek airports and their effective management through implementing adaptation measures. Recommendations may feed into individual Master Plans of airports. We show how climate services can successfully facilitate airport adaptation to climate change by providing information that is tailored to the real user need.