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Expansion of Arlanda Terminals 3 Authors: Nathalie Drambo, Lisa Montgomery, Tom Werner, Daniel Escobar Carbonari, Amanda Gordon & Aurora Øvereng. 1 Source: Travel News Non-technical summary Introduction Other than the UPA, no formal decisions on expansion have Because of an expected increase in air travels, Swedavia is currently been made. currently planning an expansion of Stockholm-Arlanda Airport. Their aim is to have a capacity of 70 million yearly passengers by Economic growth, along with other external factors, have 2067, which is around three times the amount of passenger today. contributed to Swedavia’s realisation that the earlier Masterplan If this vision is to become reality, it is important to assess the from 2014 is outdated. Instead, a new (Draft) Masterplan has been impacts, effects and consequences of the expansion on the developed, which was presented in 2017. The Draft Masterplan environment. Consequently, this environmental impact presents strategies for Arlanda to become the leading assessment (EIA) aims to do so. It will focus on the two Scandinavian airport and regional transport node. alternatives for terminal expansion presented by Swedavia in Arlanda Airport is classified as a national interest and also their Draft Masterplan from 2017. Other than these two includes a relatively large area of land outside the central, alternatives, the EIA will also look at a zero alternative that operational area. As a national interest, Arlanda is protected explains what will happen to the environment if the project is not against change that would prevent or diminish the airport’s carried out. Lastly, we will present our recommendation for which operations. Future expansion will most likely require that the alternative is preferable in regard to the environment. boundaries for the national interest area are moved. Since Arlanda officially opened in 1962, several expansions have taken Background place, and today the airport has four terminals: 2, 3, 4 and 5. Prior Air travel at Arlanda has increased with 40 per cent over the past to UPA, Arlanda had 350 000 m2 of terminal area. For a capacity six years, with 23 million passengers passing through the airport of 70 million yearly passengers, Swedavia has calculated that this in 2015. Because of this, a first step to expand Arlanda began in area will need to be doubled. The two alternatives proposed for 2014. This first step is a development programme called future expansion in the Draft Masterplan include developing the Utvecklingsprogram Arlanda (UPA), and it is expected to last until existing terminal structure (Alternative Central) or constructing a 2023, creating a total capacity of 35 million yearly passengers. new terminal building in an unexploited area (Alternative North). Three additional alternatives have already been identified and 2 dismissed by Swedavia, because they did not meet the required housing a collection of historic aircrafts called Arlanda demands. Flygsamlingar. The area north of Arlanda is largely coniferous forest and bedrock, and is home to a nature reserve called The Alternatives Laggatorp. West of the forest, in connection with Runway 1, is an Alternative Central - this alternative focuses on an expansion of area of grassland. East of the forest is a closed extraction site that the existing terminals, and also includes new buildings and piers is part of the Stockholm esker. The site is currently used as a for aircrafts. motocross track. All three of the mentioned areas north of Arlanda have natural values, and are more or less unusual in the landscape Alternative North - this alternative proposes a new terminal today; on a local, regional and national level. building in a largely unexploited area north of Arlanda. Comparison of alternatives Zero Alternative – this alternative looks at possible effects and Both Alternative Central and Alternative North will impact the consequences if neither of the other two alternatives are carried environment. That said, Alternative North has a more direct, out. It does, however, include the UPA expansion. physical environmental impact, which includes land-use change. Depending on the alternative chosen, and how it is carried out, Current situation certain aspects of the environmental impacts can be mitigated. An Of the land occupied by Arlanda Airport, airside constitutes 9 km2 expansion also provides opportunity for Arlanda to become more and landside 5 km2. The boundary between the two is normally efficient, with less impact on the environment than it has today. considered to be the airport security check. Landside is the more accessible area for passengers and members of the public, The advantage of Alternative Central over North is that it will be whereas airside is fenced in. developed on already built surfaces. It would mean taking land that has previously been exploited, and making it more efficient. The airport creates job opportunities, but also generates waste In terms of biodiversity, Arlanda acts as a barrier in the landscape. and various usage of water. Areas of forest and farmland are in This is a negative effect that needs to be reduced. Alternative close vicinity to the airport, and there are also a number of sites of North would heighten this effect. In addition, Alternative North historical and/or cultural interest. These areas are mainly would lead to a loss of habitat and a reduced ability for the affected by noise and air pollution, but also by pollution in lakes landscape to provide ecosystem services. A potential conflict with and other bodies of water. Laggatorp nature reserve is a risk with this alternative, and should The central parts of airside and landside are mainly consistent of be avoided. In summary, the effects of Alternative North collide hard surfaces with various types of infrastructure. The logistics with the national environmental objectives. An expansion in the and cargo area is located at the southern end of the terminal north also requires more extensive solutions for ground buildings. To the southeast of existing terminals is a hangar transportation, as well as additional infrastructure for this and 3 other operations. It has not been possible to prove that any lessening the amount of chemicals that find their way into the environmental gain will come from Alternative North. The Zero water. Alternative includes UPA, and is not expected to have significant Waste is generated at any construction site, making a major environmental impact. development like a terminal expansion a significant source of The removal of land in Alternative North could generate a great various types of waste. To minimize the risk of foreign object amount of particles in the air, as would the use of heavy machinery debris, it is recommended that a protective fence is set up around for construction. If activities were to be prohibited during high the construction site. Also, to avoid construction waste going to winds, and the on-site speed of construction vehicles limited, it landfills, materials should be reused and/or recycled wherever could reduce the generation of particles. It is also suggested that possible. If multiple entrepreneurs are involved it is even more dust suppressants are used in unpaved areas. While on a smaller important to ensure this is done in a streamlined manner. During scale, these mitigation measures also apply to Alternative Central. operation, focus should be on minimizing and recycling all types of waste. Waste management should be considered at the The main source of CO2 emissions when constructing a new planning stage, in particular in Alternative North, since there is terminal would be the diesel engines used in construction possibility to incorporate it in the terminal design. vehicles. Same applies to emissions of ozone and nitrogen dioxide. In order to reduce these emissions, focus needs to be on making To lessen the impact on Laggatorp nature reserve if Alternative equipment more efficient, and developing alternative fuel sources. North is carried out, it is important that the new terminal building However, since there will always be some CO2 emissions when is constructed at sufficient distance, and preferably a low height. diesel engines are used, compensation through carbon certified If the exploitation physically affects Laggatorp nature reserve, credits could be necessary. then compensatory measures has to be taken. This would mean a new nature reserve has to be established, or the existing can be Both Alternative North and Central will likely have to deal with extended. Furthermore, in order to avoid damage to ecosystem greater amounts of stormwater, due to the increase in hard services an analysis of such services should be performed. In surface area. For this to be handled properly, it is important that addition, to ensure that no harm comes to undiscovered cultural careful planning and assessment of future conditions are historic sites, it is recommended that a thorough archaeological implemented prior to development. In terms of groundwater, the survey is carried out prior to development. In Alternative Central Stockholm esker needs to be monitored, to establish change in there may be a need to expand further south in the future, which flow or quantity. Groundwater is mainly affected by chemicals would require Cargo City to move. The impacts of this have not used in construction and maintenance, such as de-icing of been assessed here, but is significant to consider nonetheless. airplanes. Therefore, efforts should be made to find ways of Care should also be taken to preserve the historical collection of aircrafts at Arlanda Flygsamlingar, which could be threatened by 4 an expansion to the southeast in Alternative Central. However, with the construction of a new terminal there is great opportunity to highlight Swedish aviation history, as well as developing new cultural experiences, something which is relevant to bear in mind. An expansion of Arlanda would not only impact the environment but, as Sweden’s main airport, it would also greatly affect the socio-economic conditions.

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