From the European AEROPLANE project to consultancy services for airports and airlines: Deep Blue turns climate data analysis into practical tools that help the aviation sector address climate risks and improve sustainability while meeting new regulatory requirements.
Climate and aviation: a two-way relationship
At an airport, a hotter-than-average summer day can force an aircraft to extend its take-off roll, increase the energy consumption of a terminal building, and make airside work shifts more demanding and potentially hazardous. This is not a futuristic scenario: it is a reality that the aviation sector is already learning to deal with.
Climate and aviation are connected by a two-way relationship. The aviation industry has an impact on the climate, although it is working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions; at the same time, it must cope with rising temperatures and increasingly frequent extreme weather events, which are prompting airports, airlines and air traffic management operators to rethink how infrastructure, operations and workforce management can adapt to these new pressures.
It is precisely in this space – between climate data, day-to-day operations and strategic decision-making – that Deep Blue operates, transforming climate analysis into an operational tool for airports and airlines. This work builds on experience gained through European projects such as AEROPLANE, an initiative funded by the SESAR Joint Undertaking to support a more sustainable and resilient aviation sector.
AEROPLANE: sustainability and resilience in aviation
“The project focused on two parallel tracks,” explains Carlo Abate, physicist and Head of Environment & Energy at Deep Blue as well as AEROPLANE Coordinator. “On the one hand, the development and adoption of mitigation strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions both in flight and at airports; on the other, adapting infrastructure and operations to the effects of a changing climate.” The latter falls within the field of so-called climate services: tools that transform climate data – both current observations and future projections – into practical support for operational decision-making. In other words, the aim is to anticipate climate impacts and identify the most appropriate responses.
“For those managing complex airport operations, knowing that temperatures in a particular region may increase by several degrees over the coming decades is only useful up to a point,” Abate continues. “What is really needed is an understanding of the practical consequences of these changes and how to respond. Climate services aim to address exactly these needs: they identify key risks, assess how they are likely to evolve, and develop strategies to reduce their impact.”
One of AEROPLANE’s case studies focused on analysing how rising temperatures may affect aircraft take-off performance and airport noise distribution, while also proposing adaptation measures. “Higher temperatures reduce aircraft efficiency and increase the distance required for take-off. At airports with short runways or geographical constraints, such as islands or densely urbanised areas, this may require payload restrictions, fewer passengers on board, or changes to flight scheduling,” explains the project coordinator. Heatwaves – and other extreme events – are not only a challenge for aircraft operations but for the entire airport ecosystem. High temperatures can place additional pressure on terminal cooling systems, increase airport energy consumption, accelerate infrastructure deterioration, raise the risk of wildfires and maintenance requirements, and complicate the management of personnel working on runways and aprons.
Climate affects airport operations, and airport operations affect the climate. Another area of research within AEROPLANE examined aircraft contrails and their contribution to atmospheric warming. “The climate impact of aviation is not limited to CO₂ emissions,” Abate explains. “Contrails, for example, influence the ability of cirrus clouds to retain heat and therefore have a significant – although less visible – effect on the climate. We developed a method to quantify this impact and convert it into CO₂-equivalent emissions. This enabled us to identify routes that reduce contrail formation and, consequently, the overall climate impact of flights.”
The AEROPLANE toolkit
The project’s main outcome is a toolkit that combines climate and operational data to analyse how different climate variables are likely to influence flight operations over the coming decades. “The system allows users, for example, to visualise future scenarios for different European airports and estimate how specific operational indicators may change: average and maximum temperatures, heatwave duration, operational limitations for particular aircraft models, and payload reductions required under certain climate conditions,” explains Abate. The toolkit serves as a methodological validation instrument. More than a commercial product, it demonstrates how climate data can be translated into operational and risk assessments.
Most importantly, it was developed through a participatory approach. “Discussions with industry stakeholders – airports, air traffic controllers and airlines – highlighted that the main need is not simply access to climate data, but the ability to interpret it and translate it into operational and strategic decisions,” Abate notes. “Operators do not just need climate information; they need to understand what to do with it.”
From research to consultancy
The experience gained through AEROPLANE became the starting point for the next step: transforming research outcomes into consultancy services specifically tailored to the airport sector. Today, Deep Blue works with airports and aviation operators to assess climate risks and develop adaptation strategies. “Climate change is no longer something that will affect aviation in the future; it is already changing the day-to-day functioning of air transport,” Abate observes. “The challenge is no longer simply to predict it, but to manage it effectively.”
The urgency of this issue is reinforced by evolving national and European regulatory frameworks. The Italian National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC) and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) increasingly require organisations to assess climate risks, document their impacts, and develop adaptation and monitoring strategies.
The consultancy service is designed in a modular way, allowing it to be tailored to the characteristics and needs of individual airports. The process begins by identifying the climate phenomena most relevant to a specific geographical context – high temperatures, extreme precipitation, wind events and energy stress – before analysing their evolution through historical data and future climate projections. Based on this information, Deep Blue assesses the impact on airport operations and infrastructure, including runway vulnerabilities, effects on take-off performance, terminal energy resilience, impacts on operational staff and service continuity.
According to Abate, the added value lies above all in the methodology. “One of the key aspects is the involvement of airport stakeholders: airlines, airport operators, ground handling companies and regulatory authorities. Climate risk never affects a single actor in isolation, and adaptation measures must be shared and coordinated.”
The objective is to establish a common decision-making pathway capable of turning climate data into concrete actions: investment planning, revision of operational procedures, risk mitigation strategies and continuous monitoring of the effectiveness of adopted measures. In this sense, the final outcome is not merely a technical report but a decision-support tool that enables airports to move from reactive emergency management towards a preventive and strategic approach to resilience.
The case of Bologna Airport
One of the first practical applications of this approach involved Bologna Airport, with which Deep Blue launched a collaboration on climate adaptation. “In this case, the airport operator’s primary interest concerned the operational and infrastructural impacts of rising temperatures: terminal energy management, cooling systems, the resilience of IT infrastructure, the safety of operational staff exposed to heat, and the organisation of apron activities,” explains Abate. It is becoming increasingly clear that the climate crisis is not only an environmental issue but also an organisational, economic and managerial challenge involving multiple airport functions simultaneously.
Airport climate adaptation: a still underexplored field
While emissions mitigation in aviation is now at the centre of substantial investment, regulation and research activity, climate adaptation remains a relatively new area. It is a niche in which Deep Blue is well-positioned thanks to the combination of climate change research expertise, deep knowledge of the aviation sector and strong operational analysis capabilities.
“In a context where organisations will increasingly need to address regulatory requirements, climate risk assessments and resilience strategies, transforming research into practical decision-support tools is no longer simply an opportunity: it is becoming a necessity,” concludes Abate. “Thanks to the experience gained through European projects such as AEROPLANE – an experience that will be further strengthened by new research initiatives currently being launched – we know how to do this, transforming specialised knowledge and expertise into dedicated services.”
