Brussels Airport tests mobile air filter to improve air quality on its tarmac

Brussels Airport has begun testing a large mobile air filter in an area next to the tarmac, designed to remove fine and ultrafine particles from the surrounding air. With this trial, Brussels Airport became the first airport in the world to test this type of filter in a fully operational environment.

The device, housed in a container around twelve metres long, draws in ambient air and removes fine and ultrafine particles through an advanced filtration system, before releasing the purified air back into the atmosphere. An initial test phase, held from December 2025 to March 2026 directly in front of Pier A, had already produced positive results, with independent institutes carrying out air quality measurements around the airport.

The second test phase runs until the end of September, with the project forming part of STARGATE, the EU-funded initiative led by Brussels Airport to accelerate the decarbonisation and green transformation of the aviation industry. After the second test phase, the airport will assess how far the technology could be rolled out more widely across its own operations and beyond.

Read more in Brussels Airport’s Press Release here.