Development of a cognitive model for the analysis of relationships in the airport environmental management system

Abstract

Aviation enterprises (airports) are massive facilities with a variety of effects on the environment, yet, those influences are significantly understudied and lack structuring, leaving the airports at low levels of sustainability and with impaired management. Thus, the aim of this research was to compile the mind map to describe a system of environmental impacts and problems associated with the airports. The model (map) was created by conducting complex multi-stage expert surveys with scoping of elements of airport management system, which identified 68 factors belonging to 8 groups. The factors are related to atmospheric air, soil and water, flora and fauna, physical impacts, organisational, environmental, administrative, logistical and spatial issues, construction and technical solutions as well as social, economic and human factors. With the help of ranking based on experts’ judgements, 13 most relevant (key) factors of the impact on the environment were distinguished. To build an oriented graph of the airport management system and analyse it, the approach of drawing arcs (arrows) of impact was used. It is found that the most influential factors tend to be dynamic, related to the planning stages of airports and instead of purely environmental ones are interdisciplinary. The annual passenger traffic at the airport, compliance with the standards of sanitary protection zones, airport’s capacity and types of aircraft received by the airport demonstrated the highest impact on the airport environmental management system. In combination with studies of the effects of individual factors and the impact of the airport on the environment, the results of the work can be applied practically in the management and decision-making processes regarding the environmental safety of the airport