Assessment of the Impacts of Forest Fires on Air Transportation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18212160Keywords:
Forest fires, Air transportation, Flight safety, VisibilityAbstract
This study was conducted to examine the operational, safety-focused, and economic impacts of the increasing number of forest fires on air transportation globally. A qualitative research method was used, and national and international news content regarding large-scale forest fires in various countries between 2020 and 2025 was evaluated through case study analysis. The results reveal that, in addition to environmental impacts, fires cause significant disruptions to air transportation operations due to reduced visibility caused by dense smoke, aerosol, and particulate matter accumulation. Case studies selected from Türkiye, Canada, Greece, Italy, France, Australia, Portugal, and Spain show impacts such as flight cancellations, airport closures, diversions, delays, passenger inconveniences, and disruptions to tourism activities. The findings also indicate that fires cause chain reactions on regional airport networks and globally connected flight systems; airlines need proactive strategies in crisis management, route optimization, and passenger information processes. In conclusion, the research reveals that forest fires are a critical environmental threat with multifaceted impacts on air transportation, and these impacts need to be re-evaluated within the framework of both operational planning and aviation safety and flight security.
References
Abatzoglou, J. T., & Williams, A. P. (2016). Impact of anthropogenic climate change on wildfire across western US forests. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(42), 11770–11775. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1607171113
ABC News. (2025). Air quality alerts in 10 states as wildfires burn. https://abcnews.go.com/US/air-quality-alerts-place-10-states-wildfires-burn/story?id=124371722. (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
African News. (2025). Marseille airport suspends flights as wildfire continues to burn. https://www.africanews.com/2025/07/09/marseille-airport-suspends-flights-as-wildfire-continues-to-burn (erişim tarihi: 28.11.2025).
Al Jazeera. (2023). Mapping the scale of Canada’s record wildfires. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/23/mapping-the-scale-of-canadas-record-wildfires (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Alberta Wildfire. (2024). Pilot handbook (2024 ed.). Government of Alberta, Forestry and Parks.
Anadolu Ajansı. (2024). https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/dunya/portekizin-madeira-adasindaki-orman-yangini-adanin-yuzde-6sindan-fazlasini-kul-etti/3309715 (erişim tarihi: 25.11.2025).
BBC News. (2020). Avustralya’da orman yangınları: Melbourne’da hava kalitesi kötüleşti. https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-dunya-51321249 (erişim tarihi: 24.11.2025).
Bowman, D. M. J. S., Balch, J., Artaxo, P., Bond, W. J., Cochrane, M. A., D’Antonio, C. M., DeFries, R., Johnston, F. H., Keeley, J. E., Krawchuk, M. A., Kull, C. A., Marston, J. B., Moritz, M. A., Prentice, I. C., Roos, C. I., Scott, A. C., Swetnam, T. W., van der Verf, G., & Pyne, S. J. (2009). Fire in the Earth System. Science, 324(5926), 481–484. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1163886
City News Vancouver. (2023). Kelowna airport flights impacted by wildfires. https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2023/08/21/kelowna-airport-flights-wildfires-2/ (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
CN Traveler. (2023, June 8). Flights to New York City are impacted by wildfire smoke, with ground stops and delays. Condé Nast Traveler (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Deutsche Welle. (2023). Yunanistan’da yangınlar: Rodos’un yüzde 10’u yandı. https://www.dw.com/tr/yunanistanda-yang%C4%B1nlar-rodosun-y%C3%BCzde-10u-yand%C4%B1/a-66345813 (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Doganis, R. (2019). Flying off course: Airline economics and marketing (5th ed.). Routledge.
Euro News. (2023). Wildfires force evacuation of tourists and temporarily close Palermo airport. https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/07/28/sicily-travel-warning-wildfires-force-evacuation-of-tourists-and-temporarily-close-palermo (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Flannigan, M. D., Krawchuk, M. A., de Groot, W. J., Wotton, B. M., & Gowman, L. M. (2009). Implications of changing climate for global wildland fire. International Journal of Wildland Fire, 18(5), 483–507. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF08187
Haber Kıbrıs. (2023). Sicilya’da orman yangını ve fırtına: Palermo Havalimanı kapatıldı. https://haberkibris.com/sicilyada-orman-yangini-ve-firtina-palermo-havalimani-kapatildi-2-kisi-oldu-1228-2023-07-25.html (erişim tarihi: 26.11.2025).
Havahaber. (2024). İzmir’de yangın nedeniyle uçuşlar durdu. https://havahaber.com/izmirde-yangin-nedeniyle-ucuslar-durdu/ (erişim tarihi: 24.11.2025).
ICAO. (2020). Meteorology (Annex 3 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation). International Civil Aviation Organization. https://www.icao.int (erişim tarihi: 24.11.2025).
Ismanto, H., Hartono, H., & Marfai, M. A. (2019). Spatiotemporal visibility characteristics impacted by forest and land fire over airports in Sumatera and Borneo Island, Indonesia. Quaestiones Geographicae, 38(3), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.2478/quageo-2019-0024
ITIJ. (2024). Jet2 and TUI cancel flights and holidays in Rhodes amid wildfires. https://www.itij.com/latest/news/jet2-and-tui-cancel-flights-and-holidays-rhodes-amid-wildfires (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Jaffe, D. A., O’Neill, S. M., Larkin, N. K., Holder, A. L., Peterson, D. L., Halofsky, J., & Rappold, A. G. (2020). Wildfire and prescribed burning impacts on air quality in the United States. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 70(6), 583–615. https://doi.org/10.1080/10962247.2020.1749731
Jolly, W. M., Cochrane, M. A., Freeborn, P. H., Holden, Z. A., Brown, T. J., Williamson, G. J., & Bowman, D. M. J. S. (2015). Climate-induced variations in global wildfire danger from 1979 to 2013. Nature Communications, 6, 7537. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8537
Jones, M. W., Smith, A., Betts, R., et al. (2022). Global and regional trends in wildfire activity. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 3(7), 468–484. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00331-x
Kwasiborska, A., Grabowski, M., Sedláčková, A. N., & Novák, A. (2023). The influence of visibility on the opportunity to perform flight operations with various categories of the Instrument Landing System. Sensors, 23(18), 7953. https://doi.org/10.3390/s23187953
La Vanguardia. (2020). Calima e incendios cierran aeropuertos en Canarias. https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20200224/473727843801/calima-incendios-cierra-aeropuertos-canarias.html (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Liu, Y., Heilman, W. E., Potter, B. E., Clements, C. B., Jackson, W. A., French, N. H. F., Goodrick, S. L., Kochanski, A. K., Larkin, N. K., Lahm, P. W., Brown, T. J., Schwarz, J. P., Strachan, S. M., & Zhao, F. (2025). Recent advances in wildland fire smoke dynamics research in the United States. Atmosphere, 16(11), 1221. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16111221
Luo, Y., Huang, L., Shi, L., Bao, G., & Dai, F. (2024). Environmental hazard assessment of forest fire sites to firefighting aircraft — Part I: Canyon Wind and Temperature Distribution. Heliyon A Cell Press Journal, 10(16), e35684. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35684
Nakata, M., Sano, I., Mukai, S., & Kokhanovsky, A. (2022). Characterization of wildfire smoke over complex terrain using satellite observations, ground-based observations, and meteorological models. Remote Sensing, 14(10), 2344. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14102344
NTV. (2024). İzmir ve Balıkesir’de orman yangını: Bazı evler tahliye edildi. https://www.ntv.com.tr/galeri/turkiye/izmir-ve-balikesirde-orman-yangini-bazi-evler-tahliye-edildi,Y33FlVZshU64AWaFnCj-2g (erişim tarihi: 24.11.2025).
Perkins-Kirkpatrick, S. E., & Lewis, S. C. (2020). Increasing trends in regional heatwaves. Nature Communications, 11, 3357. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-16970-7
Perth Now. (2020). Melbourne Airport flight chaos amid bushfire smoke haze. https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/aviation/melbourne-airport-flight-chaos-amid-bushfire-smoke-haze-ng-b881433878z (erişim tarihi: 12.11.2025).
Reuters. (2024, July 18). Flights suspended at Turkey’s Izmir airport due to nearby wildfire. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/flights-suspended-turkeys-izmir-airport-due-nearby-wildfire-2024-07-18 (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Safeture. (2025). Wildfires informer 2025. https://safeture.com/wildfires-informer-2025/ (erişim tarihi: 24.11.2025).
Skybrary Aviation Safety. (2025). Wildfires: Guidance for flight crews. https://skybrary.aero/articles/wildfires-guidance-flight-crews (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Strobach, E. J., Brewer, W. A., Senff, C. J., Baidar, S., & McCarty, B. (2023). Isolating and investigating updrafts induced by wildland fires using an airborne Doppler lidar during FIREX‐AQ. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 128(14), e2023JD038809. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JD038809
The Guardian. (2025). Marseille airport cancels all flights as wildfire encroaches on city. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/08/marseille-airport-cancels-all-flights-as-wildfire-encroaches-on-city (erişim tarihi: 27.11.2025).
Travel Agent Central. (2023, June 8). FAA delays flights across Northeast due to wildfire smoke. Travel Agent Central.
Veillette, P. (2023, August 08). Aerial firefighting involves heat, smoke and turbulence – Part 2. Aviation Week. aviationweek.com (erişim tarihi: 26.11.2025).
Withrow-Maser, S., Aires, J., Peters, N., & Lyons, S. (2025). Adapting rotorcraft mission task elements to wildfire applications. NASA Ames Research Center.4.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Black Sea Journal of Aviation and Aerospace
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
