Data Explorer
AIRLIFT – Aircraft Local Impact Footprint Tool
Landing and take-off (LTO) operations at airports release a significant amount of air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides (NOx), fine particulate matter (PM2.5), hydrocarbons (HC), and carbon monoxide (CO). LTO operations account for approximately 10% of total aviation emissions. Studies have shown that residents living near airports experience increased risk to respiratory problems.
Data on air pollutants around airports are valuable for policymakers, researchers, and communities seeking to understand and develop mitigation strategies for emissions from aircraft LTO operations. The ICCT’s AIRcraft Local Impact Footprint Tool (AIRLIFT) dataset provides information on air pollutants and fuel use from commercial passenger, commercial, and general aviation aircraft worldwide in 2023.
AIRLIFT presents data from the 5,000 airports globally with the highest number of flights in 2023, covering about 49.4 million flights. Flight activity was identified using Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) data from Spire, which include aircraft type, International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) designator code, tail number, and departure and arrival airports. Airport coordinates were sourced from the OurAirports database.
Map. Global 500 airports LTO operations emission and pollution (icct-airlift.azurewebsites.net)
This map displays the top 500 airports with high flight counts in 2023. Explore to see the greenhouse gas and NOx pollution profile from aircraft landing and take-off (LTO) activity. This is a sample of data from the International Council on Clean Transportation’s Data Explorer.
You can access the full dataset of 5,000 airports with different flight categories and other pollutants (PM2.5, HC, and CO) here. To view this interactive visualization in full screen, click here.