Climate Change Adaptation Studies as a tool to ensure airport's sustainability: The case of Athens International Airport (A.I.A.)

A.I.A (Athens International Airport) is the first major transportation infrastructure in Greece. Environmental protection is a priority and AIA is committed to protect the environment and preventing or lessening negative impacts, through a comprehensive Environmental Policy and Procedures. The scope of this article is to perform a comprehensive risk assessment of climate-related risks to the direct and indirect operations of Athens International Airport and to its assets. To achieve that, we proceeded to collect and analyse the historical climate data as well as the future climate scenarios for the region in which the airport operates. Ιn addition, we prepared a questionnaire on the climatic conditions at the airport and the protection measures already in place. The questionnaire was shared with employees in key-positions, as well as to third parties. A round of interviews was held, with important conclusions to be drawn. Finally, we come up with a list of risks assessments, related to climate change, for the airport and some actions to be implemented in the next period.