A sustainable mobility plan for the airports of tomorrow

Elke Bossaert and Korijn Defever
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Elke Bossaert: Strategy Department, Belgium
Korijn Defever: Airport Intelligence, Belgium

Journal of Airport Management, 2026, vol. 20, issue 3, 239-252

Abstract: In recent years, the European Commission has promoted Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs) to improve sustainability, accessibility and quality of life in cities. Recognising functional similarities between cities and airports as complex, multimodal transport hubs, Brussels Airport adapted the SUMP framework to develop a Sustainable Airport Mobility Plan (SAMP) within the EU Green Deal Stargate programme. This paper presents the development and implementation of the first SAMP at Brussels Airport, demonstrating how urban mobility planning principles can be translated to the airport context. The methodology combines collaborative governance, stakeholder engagement and robust data analysis to address the mobility needs of passengers, employees and cargo partners. A comprehensive baseline assessment evaluated all access modes using criteria including accessibility, environmental performance, safety and user experience. Based on this analysis, targeted measures were defined to improve hub connectivity, reduce CO2 emissions and encourage a shift towards more sustainable transport modes, including enhanced pedestrian infrastructure, improved public transport alignment and better intermodal integration. The SAMP process also identified key congestion points and infrastructure gaps, resulting in a prioritised action plan, several elements of which are already being implemented. The paper illustrates how sustainable mobility planning at airports can support Total Airport Management by integrating landside and airside processes. The Brussels Airport SAMP provides a transferable, data-driven model for other airports seeking to advance sustainable mobility strategies. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks. com/business/.

Keywords: sustainable mobility; airport accessibility; stakeholder engagement; multimodal transport; data-driven planning; total airport management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: M1 M10 R4 R40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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