Frankfurt International Airport, one of Europe's busiest airports, has been cleared to begin work on a major expansion programme.

Alois Rhiel, minister of the economy in Hesse state where Frankfurt is located, approved planning consent on 18th December 2007 which permits the airport to begin building a fourth runway and a third passenger terminal along with accompanying infrastructure.

The decision is the culmination of a long-running process - the intention to develop Frankfurt was first announced 10 years ago.

Under current plans, construction work is scheduled to commence in 2009 with the new runway being operational by 2011-2012.

Fraport, the group which operates the airport, is set to invest 4 billion euros ($5.8 billion) in the project.

Capacity Increased and Jobs Created

Frankfurt is Germany's biggest airport. According to figures released by the European Commission (EC) last week, during 2006 it handled over 52 million passengers. It is also currently among the top eight of the world's busiest airports.

Fraport expect the new runway and terminal to allow the airport to cement its place as a leading aviation hub by significantly increasing capacity.

According to Fraport's Chief Executive Officer, Wilhelm Bender, the airport's development will enable Frankfurt to increase passenger numbers by over 60%. Mr Bender says the airport will be capable of handling over 88 million passengers per year by 2020.

The annual number of air movements will rise from under 500,000 to over 700,000, and the average number of movements per hour will rise from 82 to 126.

Mr Rhiel added that the development would create 40,000 new jobs.

Restrictions on Night Flights

However, despite the approval of the new runway and terminal, restrictions have been placed on night flights from the airport.

Mr Rhiel announced that an average of 17 air movements will be allowed each night between 11 pm and 5 am. Anti-noise campaigners, who have long fought proposals to develop Frankfurt, had wanted a complete ban on night flights, but Mr Rhiel said this was impractical.

The anti-noise campaigners, and local area municipalities around the airport, were unhappy that approval was given for the airport's development. They have said they will seek a court review of Rhiel's consent.

Source - Airport International's European Correspondent

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