In this article, a model which examines the evolution of ion concentrations in a hot aircraft exhaust plume on the ground is proposed. The model includes plume dilution and ion-ion recombination with coefficients which vary with temperature. A comparison of the model is made with the available ground-based experimental data obtained on the ATTAS research aircraft engines. From this comparison, an ion emission index of the order of 8 1016 ions/kg(fuel) is inferred. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union