Adaptation of UK airports to a changing climate: an evaluation of the Adaptation reporting Power Process (2011 – 2024)

The Climate Adaptation Reporting Power (ARP) established adaptation reporting requirements for critical national infrastructure in the United Kingdom to inform the 5-yearly UK Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA). This paper presents the first comprehensive analysis of the reports submitted by ten airports across the four ARP rounds to date (ARP1- ARP4, 2011-2024). Classifying over 900 reported risks, it provides the first complete synthesis of the climate risks and adaptation actions reported by the airports and the first complete mapping of airport climate risks since the second UK CCRA in 2017. Findings demonstrate that the initial mandatory round catalysed engagement: all airports embedded climate risks into corporate risk registers, identified adaptation actions, and nine established monitoring processes. Subsequent voluntary rounds show sustained participation and improved reporting quality, although inconsistencies in timeframes, climate scenarios, and risk classifications hinder comparability. Four recommendations for the ARP fifth round are identified: (1) provide clear templates and guidance identifying what good-quality reports should contain; (2) adopt sector-specific risk classifications to support network-level comparability; (3) broaden reporting to a wider set of UK airports, particularly smaller regional and local airports; (4) consider a mandatory approach to ensure thorough identification of climate risks, adaptation actions and gaps, and interdependencies. The study demonstrates the clear value of regulatory mandates in driving climate adaptation at airports and highlights lessons for other countries considering similar initiatives: the need for strong support and guidance, and early standardisation of inputs such as timeframes, climate scenarios, and risk categories. Adopting comparable measures internationally would strengthen resilience across the global aviation network.