Potential reductions of CO2 emissions due to the landside accessibility of Brussels Airport through adapted policy measures and use of electric vehicles

Besides its airborne operations, the landside accessibility of an airport also induces a burden on the environment. In this paper, the current environmental situation of the passenger and employee transport to and from Brussels Airport is analyzed. The different landside access modes to the airport are inventoried and their shares of traffic and emissions are illustrated. To reduce CO2 and other emissions, a cluster of measures (consisting of a transition towards hybrid and battery electric vehicles, a modal shift away from internal combustion engine passenger cars and some accompanying political interventions) needs to take place. An estimation of the current CO2 emissions related to the landside accessibility of the airport is performed and a set of potential improvements, including the introduction of hybrid and battery electric vehicles, are described. It appears that, especially when they are combined, the suggested measures can save over 30% percent of the CO2 emissions due to the landside mobility of the airport.