The environment

The airport works very actively with residential planning. By changing approach and landing methods to the south of the airport and by holding meetings with pilots and air traffic controllers, efforts are made to limit noise exposure for residences and other operations that are sensitive to noise. The airport is located near the sea so only short flight paths over land are needed for current routes because most commercial traffic heads for the Swedish mainland.

The biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions at the airport are the aviation operations run by the different airlines. Aircraft emissions consist mostly of combustion gases. Other emissions are produced by ground transport to and from the airport. The Swedish aviation industry aims to be completely fossil-free by 2030 (domestic travel).

Airport operations include the heating of properties. Heating is provided by heat pumps and green electricity. Swedavia’s own carbon dioxide emissions only from renewable forms of energy do not contribute to net carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.

Surface water from aircraft parking stands and the runway is collected and reused. Residue from the urea used for runway anti-skid treatment is picked up in the flow of surface water, and the nitrogen contained in it fertilises a nearby golf course when it is watered. Reusing the airport’s surface water reduces the use of both groundwater and mineral fertiliser. Surplus glycol from the de-icing of aircraft is collected separately, excess water is removed, and the product is used as new de-icing fluid.

Firefighting exercises mainly use biogasol as a fuel and only water as an extinguishing agent. This prevents the emission of unburnt fuel into the atmosphere and the discharge of extinguishing agent residue into the soil.

Sampling of run-off, groundwater and surface water is carried out in compliance with control programmes. Soil samples are also taken in conjunction with groundwork. There are residues of coal tar from older layers of asphalt.

Background

PFAS is an umbrella term for a large group of perfluorinated organic compounds. These compounds are very useful chemicals and are still employed in many ways in society, including in textile production, surface treatment of different materials, and different kinds of hydraulic systems. PFAS compounds were also used in firefighting foam. Firefighting foam containing PFAS compounds was used at Visby Airport for decades, until the early 2000s, when it was discovered that these compounds were potentially toxic. In 2008, an internal ban on PFAS was introduced, three years before such firefighting foam was prohibited by law in 2011.

Swedavia' work

We work with action plans for contaminated soil and follow regulatory recommendations for surveying and measures to be taken. Since the winter of 2017-2018, the surface water collected at Visby Airport is collected through a charcoal filter and then used to water the Gotska Golf Club’s golf course adjacent to the airport. About 25 million litres of surface water are treated each year.

Firefighting foam was mainly used at Visby Airport at its firefighting exercise site before 2008. Swedavia has delimited the area affected and identified about 30 properties with their own well whose water was affected by PFAS. These properties have been connected to the local water supply or had a charcoal filter installed. Work is currently under way to minimise the continued spread of PFAS.

Further information about PFAS, for instance which regulatory agency is responsible for what kind of work with contaminants, can be found on the Swedish Chemicals Agency’s website.

Large parts of the airport area are managed as hay meadows, where many different species of plants and animals are found. A number of insects and plants found on the EU’s Red List of threatened species are found in the grasslands, limestone planes and shrublands in the airport area.

Read more about biological diversity at Visby Airport.

With the help of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s Klimatklivet project and in partnership with GEAB and Region Gotland, two charging points for electric aircraft have been installed by Swedavia. The investment in electric aircraft is an important part of the aviation industry’s transition to net zero operations. On October 1, 2021, the first electric aircraft landed at Visby Airport and the charging points were inaugurated.

A pilot facility with a unique inductive, dynamic power transmission system has been set up at Visby Airport and along the road leading to central Visby. A lorry and an airport bus serve as test vehicles on the world’s first wireless electrified road for buses and heavy lorries. Electreon developed the charging technology, and the project is being funded by the Swedish Transport Administration. Take the opportunity to travel with Smartroad Gotland’s airport bus this summer.

Read more at Smartroad Gotland.

The airport works actively to reduce energy use. Air source heat pumps are being installed, thus replacing direct-acting electricity and the wood pellet-burning boiler that previously heated some buildings.

In conjunction with Svevia, NIRAS and Örebro University, a trial is under way to clean soil contaminated with PFAS. Analyses carried out on a laboratory scale show good results. Soil remediation may be a way to prevent the continued spread of PFAS compounds from areas contaminated in conjunction with previous firefighting exercises (before 2008).