German aviation industry wants faster airport expansion
Germany should speed up expansion of its eight main airports and not support minor airports if it is to expand capacity efficiently to meet future growth requirements. That is the key demand of a new aviation masterplan developed by Frankfurt and Munich airports, Lufthansa and the German air traffic control body DFS. Air travel in Germany is likely to grow 73% to 256 million annual passengers by 2015 but too many expansion projects face opposition, the masterplan said. It called for capacity growth to be focused on the two hub airports of Frankfurt and Munich, as well as on six major regional airports: Hamburg and Hanover (north), Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn (west), Stuttgart (south) and Berlin (east). Planning for these eight airports, which already account for 86% of passenger volumes in Germany, should be coordinated more closely. At the same time, uncoordinated creation of new regional airport capacity for low-cost carriers and the use of taxpayers’ money to finance the “conversion†of ex-military airports to civil aviation usage should be avoided, the masterplan said. Speaking at the presentation of the masterplan, German chancellor Gerhard Schröder supported faster planning approval for airport expansion projects and backed rapid expansion of Frankfurt airport.
Cheers,
White Cap
