Schiphol is taking several measures to better protect you, as someone who works on the apron, against ultrafine particles. Ultrafine particles are produced during the combustion of diesel and kerosene. That’s why we are acquiring more and more electric vehicles, rather than diesel ones.
We are also increasing the distance between you and the vehicles and planes. And we’re in talks with Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL) about a new departure procedure whereby aircraft do not start their engines at the gate but further away. In addition, we’re handing out masks. These masks protect you from inhaling ultrafine particles when you’re on the apron.
Furthermore, we’re carrying out tests to investigate how we can remove ultrafine particles from the apron. For example, we’re looking at the effects of blowing clean air onto the apron.