Purpose This study was carried out in Igdir, where Turkey’s urban air pollution is at the highest level, and the population is among the smallest. Thus, the study aims to determine the effect of air transportation on air pollution in the most polluted city in Turkey. Design/methodology/approach The approach includes six stages: choosing the airport, accessing the flight information for the airport, classifying the aircraft that operated at the airport, determining the aircraft engines, calculating the emission amounts, calculating the landing and takeoff-based emissions. Findings Rather than devoting the resources disproportionally to the aviation sector within the scope of economic globalization, as a policy recommendation, to realize its production potential, Igdir, which has a great agricultural production capacity, considering its microclimate, fertile soil and arable land, should be urgently integrated into neighboring markets and the national market via railways. Practical implications It is inferred from the research that Turkey has to consider implementing the emissions tax policy, while the Turkish aviation sector is to realize new regulations for aircraft-engine matching to take public health and the impacts of the airports on their surroundings into consideration more seriously. Originality/value This study is an original one, as it puts the increasing pollution caused by the aircraft into a historical and political-economic perspective. Also, it is an example of an interdisciplinary work that combines environmental science and political science.

The global climate crisis deepening rapidly and turning into a severe security problem requires a global struggle. In this regard, the United Nations has initiated comprehensive negotiations for a long time, but the process has not achieved the desired level of success. Behind this failure lie neoliberalism and its institutions that dominate the global economic system. The aviation sector with rapid growth potential develops around the aggressive strategies of neoliberalism. The developments in the aviation sector naturally affect the climate negatively at an increasing rate. In this context, the aviation industry adopting the policy of pretending to be environmentalist has ignored or covered up the environmental impacts to escape the pressure of the climate crisis and continued to grow around the deregulation principle of neoliberalism. This situation, called greenwashing, has been well adopted by the aviation industry. This study deals with greenwashing, a strategic approach that the aviation industry has implemented against other environmental problems, especially climate crises. The study has revealed that the innovative projects of the aviation industry, such as electric airplanes, hydrogen-powered airplanes, biofuel studies, high-efficiency, are highly nonfunctional. In conclusion, the study has emphasized that the aviation industry is not as innocent as pretended; the attempts to hide the sector-based pollution effects are unrealistic, and the sector-related climate crisis continues to increase.

As a prominent item on the agenda of Turkish-Armenian relations from time to time, the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant, located in the town of Metsamor in Armenia, has become an even more critical issue after the earthquakes in and around the region. The closest settlement to this nuclear power plant in the region is Iğdır. The people of Iğdır, who have current concerns about the power plant, have a different point of view towards the power plant. This study has examined the working principles and risks of nuclear power plants -which are usually seen as a clean energy source- and tried to clarify the misconceptions. Iğdır Province was the most air-polluted city in Europe in 2021. This situation has also caused the local people to establish a relationship between air pollution and the Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. In particular, cancer cases caused by air pollution have been attributed to Metsamor, which does not contribute to air pollution; and this power plant has been seen as a cause of air pollution. This study explains primary reason for this misconception is the relevant public institutions' insufficient information to society despite the deputies' parliamentary questions submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.

The climate crisis is becoming more visible day by day and is affecting the ecological system more and more. However, despite such a visible threat and its severe effects, efforts at the national and international levels are far from tackling the climate crisis. Especially with its rapid growth and ever-increasing emission rates, the commercial aviation sector remains inadequate in combating the climate crisis. This study discusses the struggles of the global commercial aviation sector in terms of the climate crisis and the reflections of this combat on the Turkish commercial aviation sector. As a result, both international and domestic commercial aviation sectors follow an unrealistic attitude in the fight against the climate crisis, and there is still a long way to go.