FUTURE OF NIGHT FLIGHTS AT FRANKFURT AIRPORT REMAINS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 000218 DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS PASS TO EB PARIS FOR FAA SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAIR ECON EIND ENRG PGOV SENV EU GM SUBJECT: FUTURE OF NIGHT FLIGHTS AT FRANKFURT AIRPORT REMAINS UNCERTAIN, WHILE LEGAL CASE LUMBERS ON. REF: ¶1. SUMMARY: In December, the Hesse Administrative Court published its August 2009 decision dismissing all claims against further expansion of the Frankfurt airport. The ruling, however, left the future of night flights at the airport unclear. The court advised the State of Hesse to "revisit" its plan to allow 17 exceptions to the promised "night flight ban." Given the lack of certainty inherent in this ruling, the Hessen government appealed to the Federal Administration court by the January 4 deadline. Lufthansa additionally appealed again, seeking a higher number of exceptions to a night flight ban, or its cancellation. Current operations at the airport, in which 50 flights land during the night, will proceed while the legal battle, estimated to last up to 2 years, continues. END SUMMARY NIGHT FLIGHT EXCEPTIONS TO BE REVIEWED -------------- ¶2. Ever since the Frankfurt airport enlargement plan was published on December 18, 2007, the proposal has been caught up in legal challenges. Two main issues have been at stake: 1)the right for the airport to expand to the extent desired; and 2)the right for night flights to continue. The August 2009 decision, with the full text published in December, reinforced an earlier January 2009 decision in which the Court eliminated challenges against the overall expansion. The company that runs the airport, Fraport, can now continue building an additional runway (construction already underway) and a new terminal (construction to begin next year.) The question of whether night flights can continue, however, remains unresolved. The court ruled that the State of Hesse must "review" and "revisit" its current practice of allowing 17 exceptions to the night flight ban, but did not specify what this review must entail. According to Hesse Economic Minister Dieter Posch, the government decided to appeal the decision by the January 4 deadline, to achieve legal certainty for the project. With a positive ruling by the federal court, no further appeals will be possible. However, this appeal can potentially also be dangerous for Hesse, if the Federal Administrative Court rules against all night flights. 'ALMOST' AN ABSOLUTE NIGHT FLIGHT BAN -------------- ¶3. The night flight ban goes back to the beginning of planning for the Frankfurt airport expansion, more than 10 years ago. Originally, the state government decided on a quid pro quo arrangement with local interest groups. The airport would expand, going from 500,000 flights to 700,000 flights in 2020, while banning flights between 11 and 5 am, thereby assuring neighboring municipalities worried by the prospect of increased airport noise and pollution. Hesse Minister President, Roland Koch (CDU) supported this plan, stating "I cannot imagine further enlargement of an airport in an urban area like this without a night flight ban." However, when the airport plan was published in 2007, the promised "night flight ban" included "17" exceptions during the core night time of 11 pm to 5 am. (Between the adjacent time of 10 pm to 6 am, the airport envisions around 150 more flights.) Citizens groups- who opposed any night flights- and airline companies- who oppose any ban- immediately balked and subsequently filed legal challenges. ¶4. Lufthansa has been the primary and most important critic of a night flight ban. Lufthansa's cargo hub is in Frankfurt and it has threatened to move its cargo business if only 17 exceptions are allowed (there are currently close to 50 flights per night.) If they shift, Lufthansa would follow Fed Ex who decided in 2008, due to the proposed ban, to move to the Cologne-Bonn airport beginning in 2010. Lufthansa Cargo's chairman Carsten Spohr has stated that the ban would "bring a healthy industry to its knees" at the same time that the government is trying to rescue the economy, while Willi Rorig from Lufthansa Cargo's corporate work council said that it will "jeopardize thousands of jobs in Frankfurt." Employees in Lufthansa's cargo operations made their voices heard by engaging in a several hour "work stoppage" in November and also delivering a petition with 4,000 signatures opposing the ban to Minister-President Roland Koch. The federal government has taken notice. In November, Chancellor Merkel spoke about creating legislation preventing individual cities from passing night flight bans at their airports. This effort, so far, has not proceeded. WHY THE NUMBER 17? -------------- ¶5. The Hesse Court ruled that Hesse must "revisit" and "review" its FRANKFURT 00000218 002 OF 002 17 exceptions because the number 17 appears to have been arbitrarily chosen and because the plan's originally stated intention was a full night flight ban. According to Holger Sewering, head of the Project Planning in the Hesse State Chancellery, the court ruled that the exceptions may not be legally supportable, because the state did not prove the necessity for these exceptions. Regarding the number 17, Sewering explained that the state initially thought that 10 night flights would be needed, but also speculated that 7 more might become necessary in coming years, which led to the number ¶17. Despite the recent ruling, Dr. Sewering, in prior conversations with Consulate representatives, had noted that the government took pains to carefully word the plan to survive legal challenges. He therefore remains optimistic. POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS -------------- ¶6. The Social Democratic (SPD) and Green Parties have highlighted the Hessen government's current actions as a symbol of their lack of credibility, since M-P Koch and the Christian Democrat Party (CDU) are now acting against a promise they once made. At a December state-level parliamentary debate on the night flight question, SPD Chair Thorsten Schaefer-Guembel stated that the government's appeal shows that they never meant to impose an absolute night flight ban at all. Tarek Al-Wazir, caucus chief of the Hessen Greens Party further hypothesized that the government wants to force the courts to decide the issue, so that the responsibility (and any fallout amongst the public) will fall on the courts, instead of the CDU. Despite the critique, it is unclear how much of the political debate has reached the general public in Hesse. As Policy Planning Chief Sewering stated, "the whole issue is legally so complicated that it's not possible to explain it to the voters in a comprehensible way." ¶7. COMMENT: The legal fight over the Frankfurt airport now enters its next round. It is true, as opposition parties point out, that Roland Koch's government may have lost some political credibility by now moving against their original stated intention of an absolute night flight ban. However, the public's attention is currently focused on the fragile economy and it may be more forgiving of some night flights, especially if they are characterized as maintaining employment and industry in the region. Overall, given Germany's reliance on its export economy, a move to reduce cargo shipments in and out of the country may be imprudent. Europe wide statistics show that 40 percent of all European cargo flights take place at night and that cargo transport by planes is growing exponentially. The Frankfurt airport will lose business to other localities if the Federal Court rules against the Hesse government. However, if that is the case, based upon the November statement of Chancellor Merkel, the federal government may try and get involved to keep some night flights operational. END COMMENT ¶8. ThisQble was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. ALFORD