Analysis of the Applied Flight Trajectory Influence on the Air Pollution in the Area of Warsaw Chopin Airport

One of the adverse effects of airport activity is the deterioration of local air quality. Aircraft operations are among the main airport-related emission sources of harmful compounds into the atmosphere. Breathing polluted air by residents of areas adjacent to airports causes numerous illnesses and can even lead to death. Using the Aviation Environmental Design Tool, different departure tracks from Warsaw Chopin Airport were compared in terms of their impact on air quality. First, the emissions of selected contaminants during each flight were estimated. The highest emissions were obtained for nitrogen oxides, which exceeded carbon monoxide emissions by a factor of 20 and particulate matter by a factor of 150. Subsequently, the pollutants’ dispersion was simulated, resulting in contours representing the concentrations of individual toxic compounds. Among other things, a strong influence of wind direction and speed on the environmental performance of flights was observed. The largest dispersion was obtained for nitrogen oxides–small concentrations were simulated more than 50 km from the emission source.