Glossary

• Airports Council International (ACI)

  An international organization, headquartered in Montreal, which represents airport operators. More than 1,900 airports in almost all of the countries in the world are ACI members, including more than 500 airports in 46 European countries.

• Auxiliary Power Units (APU)

  In addition to their two or four main engines, today’s commercial aircraft have a smaller auxiliary power unit. The APU is used to start the main engines and to generate electrical power when the plane is on the ground.

• Continuous sound level Leq3

  Underlying evaluation measurement for the new German Air Traffic Noise Act. It is a measure of the sound energy at the point of observation and is also referred to as the energy-equivalent continuous sound level. Leq3 is measured over 16 hours during the day, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. (daytime Leq3), and 8 hours during the night, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. (night-time Leq3). The six busiest months of the year are taken as the reference baseline.

• DIN EN ISO 14001

  DIN EN ISO 14001 stipulates the fundamental structures and requirements for an environmental management system, with which an organization can improve its environmental performance, fulfill its legal and voluntary obligations, and achieve environmental objectives. At the same time, ISO 14001 also acts as the basis for the certification of environmental management systems.

• Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

  The joint system for voluntary environmental management and audits is an instrument developed by the European Commission for companies that wish to improve their environmental performance. EMAS expands the requirements of DIN EN ISO 14001 more stringently, for example in terms of external environmental audits, the continuous improvement of environmental performance, and transparent communications about environment-related developments.

• European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)

  The European Aviation Safety Agency is the European Union’s flight safety body for civil aviation and is based in Cologne.

• German Airports Association (ADV)

  The umbrella organization of all passenger airports in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The organization works to promote Germany as a strong and competitive center of aviation.

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)

  An independent institution that publishes globally recognized guidelines on sustainability reporting. The GRI standards create a shared language for organizations and stakeholders that can be used to communicate and understand the economic, environmental, and social impacts of organizations. Its aim is to establish a common baseline for communication and to ensure the comparability of sustainability reports.

• Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol)

  Globally recognized instrument used to quantify and manage greenhouse gas emissions. The GHG Protocol defines requirements governing the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions on an organization-wide scale and the implementation of projects to reduce emissions.

• International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

  Headquartered in Montreal, the International Civil Aviation Organization is an agency of the United Nations. It has a total of 193 contracting states. The goal of the ICAO and its members is to ensure the safe and sustainable development of civil aviation.

• Landing and take-off cycle (LTO cycle)

  The landing and take-off cycle refers to an aircraft’s CO₂ emissions on the ground and during take-off and landing below an altitude of 3,000 feet (914 meters). Up to this internationally defined height, any greenhouse gases associated with aircraft turbines are attributed to the airport concerned and distances from the airport of about 8 kilometers in the case of departing aircraft, depending on the climbout, and 17 kilometers in the case of arriving aircraft.

• Particulate matter

  The variable PM₁₀ (particulate matter < 10 μm) describes the proportion of particulate matter with a particle diameter of up to 10 μm. As a subset of PM₁₀, PM_2.5 contains even smaller particles.

• Schengen/non-Schengen

  Departures and arrivals areas for passengers from member states that have signed up to the Schengen Agreement; these passengers have either arrived directly from one of these states or want to travel to one. No border or passport controls are needed. Non-Schengen refers to areas for passengers who have arrived from countries that are not party to the Schengen Agreement. Passports and customs checks are required in this case.

• Traffic unit (TU)

  A measurement unit used to track all commercial passenger and cargo traffic. One TU is equivalent to one passenger arriving at or departing from an airport with hand luggage (a total of 100 kilograms) or 100 kilograms of airfreight or airmail turned over or a combination of passenger volumes (arrivals and departures) and the local airfreight and airmail volumes (unloaded and loaded).