Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Aircraft Emissions at Václav Havel Airport Prague in 2020

As a consequence of measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, anthropogenic emissions worldwide decreased markedly in impacted sectors, including the aviation industry. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the pandemic on aircraft emissions below the mixing height (3000 feet above ground) at Václav Havel Airport Prague during 2020. For this purpose, real aircraft emissions during 2020 were computed using provided surveillance data, while business-as-usual aircraft emissions that could have been expected at the airport that year under normal circumstances were estimated using traffic data from previous years and derived emission factors. We found that the median real emissions at the airport in 2020 were 220.859 t of NOX, 101.364 t of CO, 15.025 t of HC, 44,039.468 t of CO2, 17,201.825 t of H2O and 11.748 t of SO2. The median estimated reduction in emissions due to the pandemic in 2020 was −476.317 t of NOX, −203.998 t of CO, −28.388 t of HC, −95,957.278 t of CO2, −37,476.400 t of H2O and −25.595 t of SO2. Absolute differences between the real and business-as-usual emissions peaked in June 2020, while the relative differences peaked in April/May at −89.4% to −92.0%.