A major recognition for the ALBATROS project highlights the importance of practical safety research in a changing industry. Researchers Twan Keijzer and Lisette Hartog from the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) received the Best Paper Award at the 2026 US-Europe Air Transportation Research and Development (ATRD) Symposium in Delft, Netherlands. They accepted the award also on behalf of their co-authors. Their paper, “Exercise, Exercise! The impact of hydrogen in aviation on airport emergency response,” presents the project’s findings on managing safety risks of hydrogen aircraft during ground operations. 

Key findings for airport safety 

This academic recognition stems directly from the operational data the study offers to the wider aviation community. Specifically, by sharing operational feedback with academic and industry stakeholders, the researchers demonstrated how hydrogen risks could be managed through procedural changes. However, the study highlights that a safe industry transition requires meeting two conditions: 

  • System clarity: the industry must clarify the onboard safety systems of future aircraft so crisis teams can develop accurate response protocols. 
  • Infrastructure investment: airports require targeted investments in specialized firefighting equipment to handle hydrogen incidents effectively. 

Bridging the gap between theory and practice 

Furthermore, the ATRD Symposium demonstrated that safety models require validation in the field to support ongoing standardisation. Twan Keijzer, the lead researcher on hydrogen safety validation for ALBATROS, reflected on this collaborative approach: 

“At this conference, we aimed to share the extensive practical knowledge and experience of all stakeholders that made these exercises a success. With this Best Paper Award, we see that the importance of such practical research is recognized, and I hope this inspires others to also publish on their practical research.” – Twan Keijzer 

Validation through large-scale exercises 

To gather the data that backed this research, the ALBATROS team evaluated traditional emergency baselines, as hydrogen’s physical and chemical properties require a shift from standard protocols. Consequently the project organized two large-scale live exercises across three European sites (Aix-en-Provence, Rotterdam, and Athens), along with a training session for airport firefighters and a dedicated training session for cabin crew members in a simulator at the AEGEAN facility in Athens.
These deployments represent the first time the industry performed validations of this scale in realistic airport environments. 

Integrating drones for situational awareness 

Finally, a key part of these operational tests was the integration of uncrewed technology into the emergency response. By deploying a drone directly into the active crisis zone, the team validated its ability to provide real-time situational awareness to crisis management teams, proving its utility in managing new-energy incidents on an active airfield. 

Read the full paper  

Want to dive deeper into the specific procedures, the drone setup, and the challenges of creating realistic hydrogen emergency scenarios? You can access the complete award-winning paper through the following options: 

Congratulations to the authors for this recognition: Twan Keijzer, Lisette Hartog, Jan-Daan Maasland, Jelle Moerkerken, Timo Nijman, Gijs Kaandorp, Vincent Van Hasselt, Luc Korzilius, Léa Taillandier, Andrea Carrieri, and Persi Santamouri.