Four out of ten of Swedavia’s airports are now level 5 certification for the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme

Credit: Swedavia

Both Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) and Ronneby Airport (RNB) achieved level 5 in the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, the highest possible. Both airports operate under Swedavia, which now has four of its ten airports with level 5 certification. Göteborg Landvetter Airport (GOT) and Malmö Airport (MMX) which reached Level 5 in December 2023. Swedavia’s remaining six airports are striving to reach the top certification level by 2026.

“It is very gratifying that with the certification of Arlanda and Ronneby, Swedavia has now four of its ten airports certified at the highest level within the Airport Carbon Accreditation framework. This shows that we continue to lead the way and have chosen to invest in aviation’s necessary climate transition for sustainable air travel”, said Jonas Abrahamsson, President and CEO of Swedavia.

What is Level 5 certification?

Level 5 is the topmost level in Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, setting high standards for airports to significantly reduce their absolute carbon emissions. In addition, airports at this level must collaborate with their entire ecosystem, including employees, suppliers, business partners, airlines, and other companies and third parties active on the airport site, to significantly contribute to emissions reduction, aligning with the broader Net Zero commitments of the sector. Regular monitoring and assessment are essential to measure progress and ensure transparency.

What has Swedavia done to achieve level 5?

Swedavia sees Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), electric- and hydrogen-powered aircraft and other new eco-friendly technologies as essential elements for the effective decarbonisation of the aviation industry.

Swedavia became fossil-free in its own airport operations at all ten airports as early as 2020, making it the first airport operator in the world to achieve this. By 2025, all ground operations at Swedavia’s airports that are carried out by other operators will also be made fossil-free through the partnership plan that has been developed, which involves all operators at the airports signing an agreement with Swedavia stipulating a focus on phasing out fossil fuels from their operations.

The long-term goal is for domestic flights to be fossil-free by 2030 and for international flights to be fossil-free by 2045, in line with the Swedish aviation industry’s joint roadmap within the framework of Fossil-Free Sweden.

The Level 5 certification of ARN and RNB means that both the largest and the smallest of Swedavia’s airports are now certified at the highest level. The certification of the airports at Level 5 signifies that Swedavia has successfully taken the final steps to eliminate fossil fuels at all levels at these two airports. ARN was the first airport within the Airport Carbon Accreditation framework to achieve net zero in 2009.

Check out more of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme here.