German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new coalition will ease rules that limit night flights to help companies including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Fraport AG stay competitive, a senior coalition lawmaker said, according to a Bloomberg News report. Merkel’s prospective alliance of her Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats will curtail powers that Germany’s 16 states have to restrict night flights, Hans-Peter Friedrich, the deputy leader in parliament of … [Read more...] about German government to lift night restrictions
night flights
Lufthansa threatens to dump freighter fleet
Lufthansa has threatened to close its fleet of freighter aircraft if restrictions on night flights are imposed on its hub at Frankfurt. Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Lufthansa Cargo was quoted by Reuter's last week as saying that it might no longer pay to have its own cargo fleet. “Everything that goes toward a single-digit number (of flights allowed per night) would mean that it no longer pays off to have our own cargo fleet," he said according to the report. His comments come after a recent … [Read more...] about Lufthansa threatens to dump freighter fleet
4th runway for Frankfurt but night flights a problem
The Frankfurt airport has been cleared for expansion by a German court after years of trying to get the expansion approved. As a result the airport can soon start building a fourth runway north of the current airport perimeter with an opening date of 2012. But Frankfurt's operator, Fraport and the main operator Lufthansa, also have to deal with the court's preliminary statement that the planned night flight restrictions are not far reaching enough. With Lufthansa's growth rates constrained … [Read more...] about 4th runway for Frankfurt but night flights a problem
