Eurocontrol and ACI Europe Issue New Climate Change Guidance for Aviation

ACI Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec and Eurocontrol Director General Raúl Medina.

Eurocontrol and ACI Europe have released new sector-wide guidance designed to help European aviation prepare for and adapt to the growing operational and infrastructure risks driven by climate change.

The framework – Adapting European Aviation to a Changing Climate: Guidance on Risk Assessment and Adaptation – provides airports, airlines and air navigation service providers with practical steps to strengthen resilience as extreme weather events intensify across the continent.

The guidance responds to increasing pressures on European aviation, including higher temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns and more frequent storms — all of which threaten operational continuity, infrastructure integrity and connectivity. It builds on ongoing sector initiatives such as DESTINATION 2050 and airport-level Net Zero commitments.

Raúl Medina, Director General of Eurocontrol — the pan-European civil-military organisation coordinating aviation across 42 member states — said climate adaptation had become “an operational necessity and a strategic imperative”, noting Europe is projected to warm faster than any other region.

“Through this new guidance, we aim to raise awareness, provide actionable recommendations and showcase real‑world examples that demonstrate what effective adaptation looks like,” he said.

Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE — which represents more than 600 airports in 55 countries — said enhancing resilience is essential to protecting Europe’s competitiveness.

“Climate action involves both reducing emissions and adapting our infrastructure to a fast-changing climate,” he said, adding that the guidance provides a “practical and comprehensive toolkit” for integrating mitigation and adaptation.

The document outlines priority actions for aviation stakeholders, including:

– Infrastructure adaptation: Reinforcing runways and drainage systems and deploying nature-based solutions to manage heat, flooding and soil instability.
– Operational resilience: Adjusting flight planning and scheduling for extreme temperatures, wind shifts and storm events; improving turbulence forecasting and emergency preparedness.
– Resource management: Addressing water scarcity and fluctuating energy demand through efficiency measures and sustainable technologies.
– Biodiversity integration: Managing wildlife risks while supporting ecosystems that enhance natural climate regulation.
– Collaborative planning: Strengthening coordination among airports, airlines, ANSPs and external partners to limit cascading risks.

The guidance was developed by the European Climate Change Adaptation Working Group, created by EUROCONTROL and ACI EUROPE in 2022 and supported by 37 partner organisations. It follows previous work on winter operations and climate preparedness published in 2023 and 2024.

The full guide can be downloaded here.