Air Quality 

Fraport is committed to improving air quality in the interest of employees and people in the vicinity of Frankfurt Airport.

This includes constantly monitoring air quality at the airport.

In addition to the continuous measurement of air pollutants, emission calculations and an atmospheric dispersion simulation model are used to determine the quantities of air pollutants that result from aircraft and airport operations and hence contribute to the pollutant concentrations as measured.   

Air quality at Frankfurt Airport has been measured since 2002. The measuring stations currently in operation are shown on the map below. Originally operated by Fraport itself, the measuring stations were handed over in 2017 to Environment and Neighborhood House (UNH), an institution of the State of Hesse located in the city of Kelsterbach. The Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) is responsible for operating the stations and evaluating the data. 

The measurements recorded by the airport measuring stations are consistent with those for the urban environment and show no particularly high concentrations. Only the concentration of nitrous oxide (NO2) at the Airport East station (formerly S1) is comparable to the results from measuring stations near to very busy roads. This is due to the proximity of the A5 federal motorway. 

More information can be found in the latest Air Quality Annual Report and the Air Quality Annual Reports for previous years.

The current measurements recorded by the airport measuring stations can be seen in the “Frankfurt Airport measurement program” section (in German) of the HLNUG website. 
1
Measuring station
Flughafen-Nord (decommissioned)
2
Measuring station
Flughafen-Ost
3
Measuring station
Flughafen-West
1
Measuring station
Flughafen-Nord (decommissioned)
2
Measuring station
Flughafen-Ost
3
Measuring station
Flughafen-West

Ultra-fine particles (UFPs) are the smallest dust particles in the air. They have a diameter of less than 100 nanometers. That means an ultra-fine particle is 1,000 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair.

When they move through the atmosphere, UFPs behave more like gas molecules than solid particles like grains of sand. They follow the air flow and can also navigate around obstacles, but they are not pulled to the ground by gravity.

As well as creating visible soot, burning wood in a fireplace also generates ultra-fine particles. Something similar occurs in the kitchen when baking or frying food. In other words, UFPs can occur in combustion processes. The immediate residues are called primary particles. They remain particles irrespective of outside influences and hence are described as "non-volatile".

By contrast, secondary particles are formed subsequently, e.g. as the result of a chemical reaction in the atmosphere. They can be "volatile": If the air heats up, the particles can convert into a gaseous state, for example. Just like car, truck and ship engines, aircraft engines release both types of particles when in operation.

Since 2017, experts from the Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) have been looking at the impact of aviation on UFP concentrations. They engage in a continuous dialog with specialists at Fraport.

In April 2023, the Airport and Region Forum launched a comprehensive study on behalf of the Hesse state government. The Environment and Neighborhood House (UNH), an institution of the Forum located in Kelsterbach, has published additional information on the study into ultra-fine particles on a dedicated website.