emissions

Good air quality is important for the health of the people working or using the airport, as airport related emission sources have the ability to emit pollutants that can degrade the air quality.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a scientific intergovernmental body, has calculated that aviation's total carbon dioxide emissions account for 2 percent of all global emissions impacting on climate change.  Of that figure, airport operations only account for up to 5 percent.

The major sources of air emissions at Changi Airport include road traffic, airport vehicles, ground running of aircraft, food preparation and air conditioning. Many of these operations are essential to the efficient operation of the airport. The challenge for Changi Airport is to work with its business partners such as airlines, ground handling agents, and relevant government agencies to keep these emissions at acceptable levels.

The ambient air quality in Singapore is monitored by the National Environment Agency (NEA) through the fully automated Telemetric Air Quality Monitoring and Measurement System. The system comprises remote air monitoring stations, one of which is located at Changi Airport,  provides an efficient means of obtaining air quality data.  NEA assesses and evaluates these air quality data to ensure that organisations do not pose unmanageable pollution, health and safety hazards.

Changi Airport's Initiatives
To improve the air quality at Changi Airport, Changi Airport Group has implemented the following measures:

• Facilitating the introduction of CNG tractors to be used by the ground handlers.
• Allowing only hybrid tractors in Terminal 3's baggage sorting area.
• Using the Changi Airport Sky Train, a people mover system, to transport passengers between Terminals 1, 2 and 3.  The Sky Trains are powered by electricity and generate zero local emissions.
• Designing the airfield to have a high number of rapid exit taxiways and connecting taxiways to reduce congestion on the airfield, hence cutting down on aircraft taxiing time and engine emissions.