Guest Column - PHL Department of Aviation
PHL & Southwest Airlines Collaborate to Transition Equipment Fleet from Diesel to Electric
By Jessica Noon, Sustainability Manager
The Philadelphia Department of Aviation has set a goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions at its airports by 2050 and is working closely with its tenants and regional partners to achieve that target. Most recently, the Airport partnered with Southwest Airlines to electrify its entire fleet of ground support equipment (GSE), the small-scale vehicles that transport luggage to and from aircraft.
The Airport installed 12 electric GSE chargers with a total of 24 charging positions, funded via a grant award of $777,000 from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Voluntary Airport Lower Emissions program. Southwest Airlines, as part of their decarbonization efforts, purchased 29 new pieces of electric battery-powered equipment to replace their formerly diesel-fueled vehicles. This project will reduce emissions at the airport by approximately 950 metric tons of CO2 each year and eliminate over 9,500 pounds of other air pollutants.
This project is just one piece of a broader effort underway to incorporate sustainability and climate resilience into operations and development at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE). The Airport Sustainability team, of which four of the five staff members are women, leads this charge, identifying and executing projects that improve the local and global environment and help achieve greener and resilient air travel. See its recently-released Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Report to learn more about our sustainability goals and progress to date: https://www.phl.org/node/2308.