Until now, the low-cost pier has been known as “CPH Swift”, a working title which has now been changed to CPH Go, which clearly signals what it is all about: more cheap tickets to more destinations.

When CPH launched its new low-cost concept about 18 months ago, they chose a working title specifically targeting low-cost carriers’ demand for swift airport turnarounds. The opening of the new low-cost pier is now less than two months away and the airport is now turning its focus on the passengers who will soon be using the new facility.

“The signal the new name is intended to give passengers is: more cheap tickets to more destinations. We therefore decided a while back that we would launch the low-cost pier under a new name once we got closer to the opening date. CPH Go is a name that describes the rationale behind the low-cost pier, namely the encouragement to travel,” said Henrik Peter Jørgensen, VP, Communications at CPH.

Growth in low-cost traffic

The Danish civil Aviation Administration recently approved the CPH Go passenger charge, and the 35% reduction compared with the existing passenger charge creates a basis for continuing growth in low-cost traffic at Copenhagen Airport.

The number of low-cost passengers at Copenhagen Airport is higher than ever before, and CPH Go is a major reason for the increase – even before the low-cost pier has opened its doors to the first passengers.

“In July, we reached 400,000 low-cost passengers in a single month, and the low-cost market share at Copenhagen Airport has grown steadily over the past year. When we talk to the low-cost carriers, they make it very clear, many new low-cost routes have been opened because we have announced the prospect of a dedicated low-cost pier, CPH Go,” said Henrik Peter Jørgensen.

CPH focuses on climate

Copenhagen Airport is part of the international aviation industry which, according to the United Nations’ climate panel (IPCC) accounts for a total of approximately 2% of global CO2 emissions. By far the majority of aviation emissions come from aircraft operations in the air.

By comparison, the transport sector as a whole accounts for about 14% of CO2 emissions worldwide.

At Copenhagen Airport, air traffic is also the greatest source of CO2 emissions. In addition, car transport to and from the airport contributes significantly to the airport’s overall emissions.

Less energy consumption = less CO2

Over a number of years, Copenhagen Airports (CPH) has taken a number of initiatives which help reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the company’s activities. For example, CPH aims to reduce its overall power consumption by 10% or more by 2012, compared with 2007.

CPH is continuously enhancing its climate action by a number of new measures which you can read more about in this section. At the same time, CPH is working closely with the other companies at the airport to reduce overall emissions from the airport through projects and campaigns and by guiding and influencing the parties to climate-friendly operations to the widest possible extent.

CPH Go, Copenhagen Airports Low Cost Facility, as with all aspects of the airport will maintain the strict environmental guidelines. These guidelines focus on the following aspects:

Air quality: at the airport and in the surrounding neighborhood.
Water and Soil: including water consumption, waste and surface water, ground water and soil.
Waste: regarding waste handing.

The aviation industry shares responsibility for the environmental impact which is changing our climate and Copenhagen Airports recognises this and is working on it. The airport takes the climate and energy very seriously and tackles these areas through the following initiatives: CO2 emissions, energy consumption, reduction of power consumption, LED lights, COOL campaign, green take-offs and picking up tax and duty free shopping upon return.

For more information, visit Copenhagen Airports.

Source: Copenhagen Airports

Samantha Minogue

Editorial Director

The technique, called Continuous Descent Approach (CDA), allows aircraft to descend on minimum power, making a smooth approach without levelling off, rather than using a classical stepped approach.

After just one year of launching the scheme, 95% of aircraft arriving into Birmingham Airport now use CDAs, making a saving per flight of around 315kg of CO2, 100kg of fuel, and reducing the noise around the airport by between one and five decibels per arrival.

The use of CDAs at Birmingham is as a result of a partnership between the Airport Company, NATS (the airport’s Air Traffic Control provider), and airlines operating at the Airport.  The technique significantly reduces fuel costs for airlines, creates a quieter environment for Airport neighbours and reduces aircraft emissions.

Ben Hanley, the Airport’s Environment Manager said, “We’re always seeking new opportunities to improve the noise climate for local residents and in 2006 we introduced the Operation Pathfinder scheme to create better communication channels and joined up thinking with our airlines and NATS.

“This partnership approach resulted in the launch of the CDA programme, and has led to improvements to our ‘on-track’ performance, which saw 99% of all our departures in 2009 keeping within the designated flight paths. We’re really seeing the results of collaborative working and we thank our partners for their commitment to improve the local climate.”

Paul Waite, Operations and Training Manager for NATS, said, “Although CDAs are being used at a number of other UK airports, Birmingham is one of the most successful airports using the scheme, and I am proud to say that our team of controllers are exceeding targets every month. It is evident that NATS, Birmingham Airport and the airlines are fully committed to tackling local aviation environmental issues.”

Birmingham Airport’s work on CDAs forms part of the national “Sustainable Aviation” initiative.  Sustainable Aviation was set up by the aviation industry, as a commitment to work together to improve environmental performance, with challenging targets to reduce noise and emissions.

Through Sustainable Aviation, Birmingham Airport recently committed to implement measures to reduce ground based carbon emissions.  Birmingham Airport is already leading the way by working with airlines through the Operation Pathfinder programme, to reduce emissions whilst aircraft are taxiing and operating on stand.

Birmingham Airport recently launched a Google Earth tool on its website to allow people looking to relocate near to the airport to find out about its flight paths, noise insulation scheme, air quality monitoring and other environmental programmes.

For more information about Birmingham Airport and the environmental programmes it offers, please visit Birmingham Airport.

Source: Birmingham Airport

Samantha Minogue

Editorial Director

From 2012, all air traffic will flow through the new Capital Airport Berlin Brandenburg International BBI. In the first step, Tempelhof Airport was closed on 30 October 2008. Tegel Airport will be closed in 2012 when BBI opens.

Environmentally friendly airports

Active human and environmental protection: reducing flight noise, avoiding waste, saving energy.

Berlin Airports is actively working to protect the environment and has made its actions transparent. In October 2004, Tegel Airport became the first of the Berlin’s airports to be certified under the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and receive DIN EN ISO 14001 certification.

EMAS is a voluntary management tool to enhance the environmental performance of organisations by checking achievements and making continuous improvements. The Tegel environmental audit included some of the airport’s key clients, such as airlines, check-in & handling services, and catering firms, as these companies also run their own operations at the airport.

Due to the impending closure of Tegel Airport, EMAS certification took place for the last time in November 2007. The environmental management system based on the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) and DIN EN ISO 14001 will be continued at the Berlin’s airports in order to ideally prepare Berlin Airports to meet the challenges of sustainable and environmentally responsible growth once the new Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport BBI opens.

BBI-planning

Concentrating all Berlin air traffic at a single location offers ecological benefits over the current airport system – which is fragmented due to the historical division of Berlin – in terms of reducing land use and disturbances from noise and traffic. To counter the expansion of Schoenefeld Airport, the innercity airports Tegel and Tempelhof will be closed.

Economic operating and maintenance costs are a pivotal element in the planning for BBI. The development engineers place a high value on ensuring that the individual buildings and structures achieve optimum energy consumption levels. In addition to the use of highly innovative heat recycling systems, the planning concept is also exploring the integration of regenerative energy systems – e.g. geothermal systems or the use of rainwater for cooling.

BBI noise protection programme

By relocating air traffic to the outskirts, hundreds of thousands of residents in Berlin and Brandenburg will no longer have to live with aircraft noise. The residents of Schoenefeld will be protected to a large extent by the conditions imposed by the planning permission decision.

Zuelow lowlands

The largest single project of the compensation and replacement measures is the ecological upgrading of the Zuelowniederung. The area is located in southern Brandenburg between Mittenwalde, Dabendorf and Groß Machnow/Rangsdorf and consists of about 2,600 hectares of lowlands. The Berlin Airports entered into a cooperation with the Landschaftspflegeverein Mittelbrandenburg e.V. (former: Verein für Landschaftspflege und Umweltschutz Teltow-Fläming e.V.) in 2003.

The object is to upgrade the agriculturally oriented, open lowlands and by means of smaller partitions of the utilization and emphasis of the existing structures design the landscape in a more varied manner. The compensation measures should improve the living conditions for flora and fauna and therefore increase the quality of the Zuelowniederung.

Protection of trees

Protecting the tree population is one of the most important parts of ecological monitoring of construction. Measures to avoid and minimise damage to the tree population range from protecting the roots using fences and burden sharing, through protecting the tree trunks to using optimised construction methods. This helped to save three approx. 200-year-old oak trees standing off site to the south-west of the small town of Selchow. The oak trees are situated right in the path of the supply and waste disposal lines for BBI. According to technical plans, open cut tunnelling was envisaged for laying the lines. For this, the trees would have had to have been felled. Instead, however, a construction method was used whereby the pipes were bored 2.50 metres below the oak trees, so that the old trees could be preserved.

Bat protection

In the course of clearing the construction site for BBI, bat research had to be carried out on conserving the small mammals, which are protected throughout Europe, when demolishing buildings and felling trees. The old trees in particular were checked for “bat occupation”, as bats like nothing more than to use former hollows of certain types of birds or deeper cracks in trees as their summer quarters. The trees in which bats were sitting were marked and only felled once the bats were relocated to their winter quarters. As a rainwater storage reservoir for BBI, the Rotberg reservoir was also extended and upgraded in such a way as to provide an ecological safe haven for the bats.

Relocation of amphibians

To conserve particularly endangered amphibians protected throughout Europe, these were taken from their natural habitat and put in newly built replacement waters before construction work began. As early as 2005, Berlin Airports created four replacement waters off site in close consultation with the nature conservation authorities. A total of several thousand amphibians were relocated by ecologists, including garlic toads, common toads, moor frogs and other species of frog found in the ponds. Relocation was scheduled to take place within three years. The waters on site have almost completely been cleared, relocation was a success. The development of the amphibians in the replacement waters is under constant ecological monitoring.

Compensatory measures

Berlin Airports is implementing a whole host of compensatory measures within the scope of expanding Schoenefeld Airport. For example, planting new trees for every tree felled, creating a replacement for every sealed area. In addition, biotope monitoring prevents disruptions to the area surrounding the airport during construction.

With an ever-growing volume of air traffic, airports are subject to increasingly stringent environmental standards. However, it is not enough to merely respect legal regulations and raise awareness of environmentally conscious behaviour. Other initiatives play an equally important role, including measures to create ideal conditions for respecting environmental issues in all areas of airport operation. For many years now, Berlin Airports have pursued a comprehensive policy of environmental management. This is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to environmental protection as a strategic corporate objective.

If you will be flying into Europe and Germany in particular then perhaps consider flying into Berlin’s Green Airports to lower your carbon footprint. Have a look at Berlin Airport for further information, flights and special offers.

Source: Berlin Airport

Samantha Minogue

Editorial Director

Marriott International, Inc. celebrated the opening of the 403-room Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway, a newly constructed hotel adjacent to the Georgia International Convention Center and connected to Atlanta’s Hartsfield -Jackson International Airport.

Contemporary in feel and filled with natural light and vibrant colors, the hotel’s facilities for business and relaxation represent the latest design and innovation of Marriott Hotels & Resorts. The Atlanta Airport Marriott Gateway is on track to earn LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification silver from the U.S. Green Building Council.

“We are so proud to introduce this state-of-the-art hotel to the Atlanta market as a shining example of our iconic Marriott Hotels brand,” said Erika Alexander, area vice president, Marriott International. “Having had a major presence in the community for over 45 years, we recognize Atlanta as one of the most dynamic cities in the United States. This new Marriott hotel reflects the future of this vibrant community.”

Just two minutes from the airport via the ATL SkyTrain and part of the vibrant Atlanta Gateway complex, this eco and tech savvy meeting destination features more than 21,000 square feet of flexible meeting space which includes the 12,000 square ft Gateway Ballroom, the largest hotel ballroom in the Airport area. The hotel is connected by a covered walkway to the adjacent Georgia International Convention Center. Together, both venues provide 321,000 square feet of meeting space. The Gateway Marriott hotel is also equipped with a GoThere Virtual Meetings studio, in partnership with AT&T TelePresence Solution, using Cisco TelePresence™ technology making it the only hotel in Atlanta to provide this virtual meeting technology.

The hotel is uniquely designed for the achiever who makes the most out of every opportunity – whether traveling for business or pleasure. The stylish hotel lobby is a social hub showcasing a Media Zone with complimentary Wi-Fi to work alone, catch up with clients, friends or co-workers. Relaxing spaces provide the ideal place to dine or to enjoy the day-to-night bar which transitions from coffee and pastries in the morning to cocktails and appetizers in the evening.  The menu design allows guests to order food based on how quickly they need it – in 5, 10 or 20 minutes!

Following are some of the hotel’s outstanding amenities:

• 403-sound proof guest rooms including 18 suites are designed for relaxing work and restful sleep, all equipped with high definition LCD televisions, Plug-In panel, wired and wireless DS3 fast internet, swivel desks, iHome docking station, refrigerators, laptop safes, individual reading lights on the headboards and Marriott’s signature bedding.
• Champions Restaurant serving a classic American menu as well as regional favorites like shrimp and grits, smokey joe barbeque and signature organic beverages, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Champions offers free Wi Fi and numerous high definition televisions.
• Concierge level and concierge lounge located on the top floor overlooking the beautifully landscaped Gateway complex and the ATL SkyTrain is designed for optimum relaxation and work.
• 24-hour spacious fitness center overlooking the SkyTrain and adjacent indoor swimming pool offers an abundance of natural light and features more than 20 state-of-the-art Life Fitness strength and cardio equipment.
• The self–service Business center open 24 hours a day is equipped with work stations, copier and fax.
• Hertz Rental Car Desk for easy pick-up and return.

The Atlanta Marriott Gateway will apply for LEED Silver status upon opening.

For further information and to find out rates, visit Marriott Gateway.

Source: Marriott

Samantha Minogue

Editorial Director

The conference is MENA region’s annual meeting for the global aviation sector. It offers the opportunity to gain expert insight, network and strategise with aviation experts from around the world and in particular the Middle East and North Africa.

They had over 300 attendees, including all of the region’s network carriers and LCC. The 3rd annual Aviation Outlook MENA 2010 brought together the key stakeholders in the region’s aviation industry. This year there was an addition to the conference. Low Cost Airlines World MENA was included. There was innovation and opportunity for traditional and low cost carriers and investors. The low cost aviation industry has proved its efficiency and profitability to the point that legacy carriers are unveiling plans to launch low cost subsidiaries.

The Middle East and North Africa have positioned themselves at the forefront of the world’s aviation market. Regional low cost carriers have played a key role in increasing air traffic, eating their own markets as well as migrating passengers from legacy carriers.

Low cost carriers are expanding and connecting the dots in their route network through strategic partnerships, coping with the challenges of low cost operations. They are competing not only on price, but convenience, service and experience.

Low cost airlines have emerged in recent years as the leaders in efficiency, meeting market needs, profitability and style.  Legacy carriers are enhancing their offering and their bottom lines by following the lessons of their low cost colleagues. Low Cost does not necessarily mean no frills but it targets airlines keen to adopt low cost operating principles.

In his introductory remarks, Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation put the emphasis on the potential threat of fuel prices if it reaches 100 USD and on the fact that the low cost model is changing the world of air traffic.

The keynote speaker, Adel Ali, CEO of Air Arabia, analyzed the Middle East market stating first that the airports of the region are very well developed and that some of the expenses made to upgrade them are unnecessary making the airports expensive and unattractive.

He continued by presenting the importance of the privatization of Air Arabia that has helped the company to become more efficient in operations and how Air Arabia changed the aviation by opening up new markets and by allowing more people to fly in more stimulating prices.

Lastly, he maintained that air transportation in MENA area is underdeveloped and has a lot to offer to the world and to prove his point he made the comparison between United States that has a population similar to the Arab world but in the MENA area air travel represents only the 15% of the US market despite the fact that air travel is the only mean of transport in this area. He concluded by saying that: “I hope that Air Arabia can be the pan-arab airline”.

The CEO of Egyptair Maintenance and Engineering presented the competitiveness of his company versus other similar companies- namely the geographic location of Cairo. This competitive advantage is based on the low facilities costs, the low cost of labor and he concluded by saying that there is a growing trend for airlines to outsource maintenance.

Mr Nico Bezuidenhout, Chief Executive Officer, Mango Airlines presented how their airline has managed to change the airline industry in South Africa and is now able to fly 4.5 million passengers and to obtaining a 17% market share after the airline was established. Mango, due to the social characteristics of South Africa, which has low access to the Internet has adopted a strategy that included two multi -skilled contact centres, 600 retail stores, more than 1000 travel agencies and offered the passengers the option to buy their tickets by retail credit cards and mobile phone payments.

In the ATR’s presentation of Jerome Gabory, Director Market Strategy stated that short haul routes dictate smaller capacity and higher frequency and it is the increasing competition that often leads to that direction.

In this year’s Aviation Outlook Middle East panel discussion the keynote speaker, Capt Alaa Ashour, Chief Executive Officer of Egyptair, said that they are preparing themselves for the liberalization of the Egyptian market.

In the panel discussion regarding the effect of the crisis and liberalization Majdi Sabri, Regional Vice President IATA said that a revision of the plan of deliveries of aircrafts by the airlines was made and he stated that according to IATA predictions consolidation will not come soon because there are cultural issues blocking such a development but most probably they see the possibility of the emergence of airlines that will not be government owned.

AACO Secretary General, Mr Abdul Waha Teffaha said that Arab airlines haven’t faced any crisis as the traffic has increased by 7% and the Arab airlines have recorded an increase of 11% of RPK and he added that Arab airlines are not subsidized explaining that government requirements to fly to non -profitable routes does not mean government support. He concluded by saying that liberalization will come sooner or later to the arab world and soon the area will see a euromed area since privatization is a must.

Nawal Taneja stated that the competitive landscape is changing and he offered two examples of crucial emerging trends: on the one hand there are legacy carriers, as for example American Airlines, that outsource most of their domestic services and on the other hand there is the increasing control customers have over the travel parameters via mobile internet, mobile devices, social media and search engines. Such developments are radically changing air traffic.

IATA Regional Vice President, Majdi Sabri, presented the situation of MENA by saying that MENA is the most dynamic aviation area recording an increase of 11.2% in passenger traffic and of 3.9% in cargo during 2009 in comparison to 2008 and the forecast for 2010 is 15.20%. He also said that the fleet of the region will double by 2018.

CEO of Airport International Group, Curtis Grad said that during 2009 20 airlines added new destinations or increased their capacity and that Amman has by now a good reach from New York to Hong Kong with 560 flights per week, 36 of which performed by low cost airlines.

Finally, the Director General of Lebanon, Dr Hamdi Chaouk, in his speech emphasized the need for unified rules and regulations since in some cases the regulator follows the airline and air traffic developments. He also stressed that regulator should be free and capable of applying enforcement rules.

At its 20th Annual Congress in Milan this week, European airport trade body ACI EUROPE marked the one year anniversary of the launch of Airport Carbon Accreditation, giving an update on the program.

ACI Europe is the European region of Airports Council International. ACI is the only worldwide professional association of airport operators. ACI Europe represents over 400 airports in 46 European countries. Member airports handle 90% of commercial air traffic in Europe, welcoming nearly 1.5 billion passengers each year.

The Carbon Accreditation Program is an institutionally endorsed program that independently assesses and recognises airports’ efforts to manage and reduce their CO2 emissions and certifies airports at 4 different levels of accreditation (Mapping, Reduction, Optimisation and Neutrality). In the past twelve months, Airport Carbon Accredited status has been awarded to a total of 18 airports, including some of the busiest airports in Europe such as Paris CDG, Frankfurt Airport, Amsterdam-Schiphol, Stockholm-Arlanda and Oslo Airport.

The geographical spread of airports which have already become accredited covers the wider European continent – including airports as far North as Trondheim Airport, as far West as Manchester Airport, as far as South as Athens International Airport and as far East as Istanbul Airport.

ACI Europe’s 20th Annual Congress in Milan this week also coincides with the first renewed accreditation of the program – host SEA Milan Airports. The company has succeeded with the accreditation applications of both Milan-Malpensa Airport and Milan-Linate Airport, achieving the Neutrality level – the highest accreditation possible. This level recognises that the airports have achieved a significant reduction in their carbon emissions, actively engaging stakeholders on its site to lower their respective emissions and finally, offsetting any of the remaining CO2 emissions that are under its direct control.

Ad Rutten, President of ACI EUROPE and COO of the Schiphol Group said “With all that has been going on in European aviation in the past 12 months, it is heartening to see so many airports tackling their CO2 emissions with such dedication. Some are just beginning the process, while others are already well advanced, but carbon neutrality for European airports remains the goal.”

He added “The achieved reduction of 411,390 tonnes of CO2 is a good start, but watch this space. We already have clear signs of commitment from a further 20 airports that they will apply for accreditation in year two.”

Source: ACI Europe

After you have passed through security control, you can enjoy a number of shops and services in the waiting area before you board your plane: you will find duty-free offers, fast food services, snack bar and a wide range of products and souvenirs to be discovered on site!

Source: Bordeaux Airport, France

Of course all you green travelers ensure that all aspects of your planned trip are eco-friendly, but did you ever think that simply choosing a different airport might help make an environmental statement? Airports are no exception when it comes to the greening of the travel industry. While environmentalists point fingers at airplanes striping the skies, some airports soar above all others with impressive eco efforts at ground level.

Boston Logan was the first airport to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Terminal A won the designation for its use of sustainable design elements, such as alternative transportation options, priority curb locations for high-occupancy vehicles, storm water filtration, mechanisms to reduce water use, day lighting for energy efficiency, use of sustainable materials, and measures to enhance indoor air quality.

These efforts have led to 12 percent energy savings, or almost $300,000, annually for the airport, and 36 percent water savings, or 1.7 million gallons per year. Logan even established its own fleet of six-foot wind turbines to catch the winds blowing through Boston Harbor. They are estimated to provide about 100,000 kilowatt-hours of energy each year.

Others that rise above and beyond the minimum requirements of domestic airports include Denver, with an impressive 9,200 solar systems that will generate three million kilowatt-hours of energy annually, and Fresno Yosemite, which installed 11,700 solar panels in July 2008. Fresno’s panels provide up to 40 percent of daily electrical needs. Denver also started a composting trial for biodegradable wastes and, in 2007, gathered over 100,000 pounds of cooking oil, reusable in bio-diesel fuel and pet food manufacturing. A concoction of melted snow and 70 percent of the airport’s de-icing fluid became antifreeze.

Yet more creative environmental thinking is on display at Seattle’s SeaTac. The airport requires all its concessions’ coffee grounds to be recycled and composted. The airport has also installed garbage and recycling compactors — and will charge concessions for trash removal, but not for recycled waste.

Dallas Fort Worth has won admirers for its commitments to cleaner air, lower emissions, and increased energy efficiency. An airport-wide policy aims to encourage airlines to cut down on fuel use and emissions. Carpooling and public transport are being promoted and altered traffic flow is being designed to make environmental efforts more efficient.

Another airport with an eco-eye on traffic patterns, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood transitioned all 57 airport shuttles and trams over to low-emission bio-diesel by early 2006, saving up to 150,000 gallons of fossil fuel annually.

So, when there’s a choice of departure point or destination, keep your travels on a low carbon diet and consider your airports’ eco-statistics.

Good ambience, good value and plenty of perks

“Singapore is dense, and the airport is intentionally open and spacious, with a good ambience for both travelers and Singaporeans,” Changi’s corporate communications manager Lee Ching Wern explained during a walking tour of the airport. “We also want the airport to be perceived as a place of value.” To that end, the airport is loaded with a wide variety of useful and, for an airport, unusual amenities.

Many airports these days offer travelers free wireless Internet access. Changi does that too, but it also provides more than 500 free Internet stations throughout the terminals, making it easy to check e-mail one last time before boarding that 10-hour flight to Japan. To help travelers while away long layovers, there are free movie theaters, free computer games, free music video and CD listening stations, and a complimentary karaoke-style music studio, where I watched two grown men turn into giggling teenagers before they even put on their headphones. Live entertainment includes “meet and greets” with celebrities passing through the airport and, just last week, a series of performances by a Michael Jackson impersonator. Numerous themed lounges offer showers, massages, meals and napping suites at very reasonable prices, but foot- and leg-massage machines scattered around the airport are free, as are the napping and lounge chairs in quiet, marked rest areas.

For my money, though, the best amenities at Changi are the tranquil koi ponds and a series of five themed gardens, all free and all exquisitely well-cared for. Indoors, there’s a fern garden and an orchid garden displaying more than 15 species of the flower. Outdoors, there’s a rooftop cactus garden with more than 40 species of cacti and succulents, a sunflower garden that will make you feel as if you’ve stepped into a Vincent van Gogh painting and, my favorite, a colorful, two-story tropical butterfly garden with more than 1,000 free-roaming butterflies native to Singapore and Malaysia. Each day, new, “just born” butterflies are released into the garden.

Little, low-cost things make a big difference

Changi Airport may be unusual in that it’s got plenty of space, a hefty budget for amenities and promotions, and a mandate to make the airport an oasis for both passengers and local citizens. Few airports may be able to match Changi for the breadth and creativity of its complimentary amenities, but airports of any size can certainly take some tips from the airport’s approach to customer service. During my three-hour tour of the airport my guides, higher-ups from the corporate communications division, were approached by an exhausted-looking woman wanting to know if there was a place she and her husband could go to rest during a long layover between two extremely long flights. Not only did one staff member stop to explain that there were free lounge chairs in the adjacent terminal – with built-in alarm clocks – right next to the gate for their next flight, but she insisted on walking the tired travelers to the next terminal to make sure that they found those chairs. Inexpensive, but very impressive.

Even more inexpensive and impressive: upon my initial arrival at the airport at 2 a.m. on a Saturday morning, a customs and immigrations officer welcomed me with a big smile and one of the airport’s complimentary breath mints.

Source: Harriet Baskas  USAToday

Bologna Airport has been awarded the accreditation level of Mapping as part of the ‘Airport Carbon Accreditation’ program endorsed by Aci Europe (the European region of Airports Council International) to encourage airport handling companies to become carbon neutral, that is to reduce their CO2 emissions through energy saving and efficiency.

Marconi Airport’s decision to apply to join the program is in line with their ongoing efforts and focus on environmental defence over recent years. At present, there are only 33 European airports in the program, including Frankfurt, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol and the two Milan airports, Malpensa and Linate.

Bologna Airport achieved accreditation “in recognition of their efforts to manage their CO2 emissions, as part of the European airport industry’s response to the challenge of climate change”.

The program involves a number of initiatives aimed at reducing the environmental impact of airports: from reducing emissions produced by vehicles on the ground, to using renewable energy sources and reducing energy waste in buildings in order to improve energy efficiency. Bologna Airport is already tackling all of these issues.

Marconi Airport was one of the first airports in Italy to invest in photovoltaic power, with an 80 kW system installed on the terminal roof which covers an area of around 1,100 sq.m. In the second half of the year, Marconi Airport plan to build a 1 MegaWatt trigeneration system (for the simultaneous production of electrical energy, heat and cooling), which will cover around 50% of the airport’s current energy requirements. Between 2001 and 2008, in spite of the terminal building being extended, the airport’s energy consumption fell by 5%.

The ‘Airport Carbon Accreditation’ program is administered by WSP Environmental, a leading consultancy in the field of climate change, and overseen by an independent board including representatives from the European Commission, Ecac (European Civil Aviation Conference) and Eurocontrol.

According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), civil aviation accounts for 2% of total CO2 emissions, which is the main gas responsible for the greenhouse effect. Of that figure, airports account for 5% of emissions.

Source: Bologna Airport