Effects of the closure of Berlin-Tegel Airport on ultrafine particle concentration on the airport site

Airports contribute significantly to the concentration of ultrafine particles (UFP) at the local level. UFP from combustion processes are produced when aircraft take off and land, during aircraft movements on the tarmac, when turbines are started, but also by vehicles transporting goods and people on the airfield. UFP are considered particularly harmful to human health due to their large surface area. They can also penetrate far into the human body due to their small size.

This study examines the extent to which particle number concentration (PNC) responds to the cessation of air traffic due to the relocation of an airport. PNC and wind data were measured at one station on the airfield downwind of the runways for the prevailing wind direction for about three weeks each before and after the closure of the airport.

We observed a 30 - 40 % drop in PNC after the closure of the airport regardless of the wind direction. 70 % higher PNC on average, 2.5 times higher maximum values as well as a three times higher dispersion of PNC occured with wind from the direction of the airport before the closure of the airport than afterwards. These differences are only evident during the day when air traffic is active and not during the nighttime flight restrictions. More frequent and higher concentration peaks occur in conjunction with wind from the airport before flight operations ceased.

The special circumstances resulting from the relocation of the airport allow clear conclusions to be drawn about the importance of airport operations for PNC in the area of the airfield. As the study took place under Covid-19 pandemic conditions, it shows the impact of aircraft movements on PNC, but does not allow conclusions about air pollution during normal air traffic. Further studies or modelling on the spatial dispersion of airport-related air pollutants and thus on the exposure of the population living and working nearby can close the gap on health effects of air traffic.

The study has been published as Fritz S., Aust S. and Sauter T. (2022): Impact of the closure of Berlin-Tegel Airport on ultrafine particle number concentrations on the airfield. Front. Environ. Sci. 10:1061584, doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.1061584. The study was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant FKZ 01LP 1912B (Urban Climate under Change, Phase II, Module 3DO + M).