Lufthansa still in the dark on Frankfurt

Efforts to avert a total ban on night flights at Frankfurt airport have gained momentum with a new initiative harnessing industry bodies and companies across the logistics spectrum.

"Cargo needs the night'' is the clarion call by Lufthansa Cargo as well as the Association of German Freight Forwarders and Logistics Operators, the Federal Association of Road Haulage, the Board of Airline Representatives in Germany and several other industry groups.

The new initiative warned that the elimination of night flights at Frankfurt Airport would undermine vital supply chain aspects for the competitiveness of Germany and hurt the country's export industry.

Ewald Heim, honorary managing director of the initiative, stressed the importance of logistics for Germany's export business and the crucial role of night flights in functioning global supply chains.

The spectre of an outright ban on night flights at Frankfurt has been looming for the past few years. The airport's US$5.4 billion expansion plans have been mired in legal wrangling, chiefly due to local opposition to the construction of a fourth runway, which is slated for opening in 2012. It is the centrepiece of the expansion plan, which also envisages the construction of a third passenger terminal.

In 2007, the state government of Hesse gave the green light for the expansion on condition that the number of flights between 11 pm and 5 am are limited to 17 movements per night when the new runway comes on stream. Last August, however, the state's Administrative Supreme Court reopened the issue in a ruling over an application to block the runway construction. The court dismissed the application but decreed that the state government's 2007 ruling on the number of night flights should be re-examined, which ushered in the threat of a complete curfew once again.

A date for the final ruling on the matter from Germany's highest court has yet to be set. It is widely expected to come towards the end of this year or early in 2011.

Lufthansa Cargo has been battling the curfew plans tooth and nail. Last autumn, chief executive officer Carsten Spohr warned that the German carrier might withdraw from the freighter business altogether.

The new initiative brings broader support to the fight as it tries to convey the broader ramifications of a curfew beyond Lufthnasa Cargo, from ground handlers and forwarders to truckers and exporters. According to Heim, more industry groups have signalled support and are expected to join the initiative in the coming weeks.

He added that leading German politicians welcomed the initiative, thanks to growing awareness of the importance of the logistics sector for the German economy.

Members of the initiative have warned that vital distribution functions could be lost to other European gateways, such as Amsterdam or Paris, which do not have outright bans on night flights.

To an Asian carrier or its clientele it does not matter much whether they channel their European cargo distribution through Frankfurt, Amsterdam or another large European gateway, said Dirk Steiger, managing director of Frankfurt-based air cargo research and consulting firm Aviainform.

"In terms of service, there is not much difference between Amst-erdam's Schiphol and Frankfurt. Frankfurt is closer to markets in Eastern Europe, but for that region you may want to use Vienna or Leipzig rather than Frankfurt," he said.

However, Frankfurt is the undisputed leader among European hubs when it comes to gateway operations by forwarders, he added.

Forwarders are not going to invest in expansion at Frankfurt before a decision on the proposed curfew there has been reached, Heim said.

"They will not invest in other German airports either," he added, arguing that freighter and bellyhold lift are inseparable. With the same argument Lufthansa has ruled out a migration of its night flights to other German airports such as nearby Hahn or Leipzig, the DHL hub and home base of the Lufthansa-DHL joint venture cargo airline Aerologic.

Steiger welcomed the initiative but expressed concern that it may be coming too late. Moreover, there are doubts as to whether judges may be swayed by the arguments brought forth by the new interest group, he added.

"Quite likely there will be permits in the fringe windows, between 10 and 12 and from 4 to 6 am, but there is little chance for the core time - midnight to 4 am," he reflected.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)