Malta International Airport Marks New Milestone

MALTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT MARKS A NEW MILESTONE IN ITS JOURNEY TOWARDS CARBON NEUTRALITY

• Airport’s environmental spend totalled around €5 million between 2016-2020
• MIA’s 2019 emissions intensity/passenger was half the average intensity of European airports
• Airport PV systems generated over 2,100,000 kWh of clean energy in 2020

Malta International Airport is celebrating a new environmental milestone as it joins 40 European counterparts at Level 2 of Airports Council International’s Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme.

Malta International Airport was welcomed to the Reduction Level of the tiered programme, which is endorsed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and is hailed as the gold standard of carbon management within the airport community, after having submitted extensive proof of its commitment to managing emissions within its control.

The airport successfully demonstrated that its 2019 emissions intensity per passenger was around 30% lower than the average intensity for the previous three years. Additionally, at 0.71kg of CO₂ per passenger^[1], Malta International Airport’s emissions intensity for 2019 was around half the average intensity of European member airports of the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme.

“Our journey towards a cleaner and more energy-efficient operation started back in 2016 with the mapping of our carbon footprint. Since then, we have made huge strides in understanding our impact and how we can mitigate it, with environmental sustainability being etched even deeper in our core business strategy,” said Sustainability Manager Justine Baldacchino, whilst thanking the team that worked towards the achievement of Level 2 accreditation, undeterred by the challenges of operating within a “harder-to-abate” sector.

Between 2016 and 2020, Malta International Airport’s investment in environmental projects, which have supported the company in registering emission reductions stemming from electricity and fuel consumption, totalled around €5 million. These green initiatives included the installation of photovoltaic systems which generated 2,106,340 kWh of clean energy in 2020; the gradual replacement of old vehicles forming part of the airport fleet with hybrid models some of which emit as little as 36g of CO₂/km; and the substitution of equipment and lighting with more energy-efficient alternatives.

Malta International Airport is eyeing the achievement of carbon neutrality for emissions under its control by 2050; a commitment which was formalised through the signing of ACI Europe’s Net Zero 2050 Resolution in 2019. For more information about the airport’s sustainability efforts, which are more far-reaching than the reduction of emissions, you may click here.

[1] This factors in airport consumption only and excludes SkyParks Business Centre.