In the fall of 1997, the then CEO of Lufthansa, Dr. Jürgen Weber, demanded the expansion of Frankfurt Airport, because FRA would hit its capacity limits in the foreseeable future. The chairman of the executive board of Fraport AG, Dr. Wilhelm Bender, supported this position: Expansion was the right approach and essential, but it could only be carried through in consensus with the majority of the population of the Rhine-Main region.
The airport thus explicitly welcomed the initiative by the state government of Hesse for open-ended mediation. After the mediation group had spoken out in favor of expansion under certain conditions, the approval procedure was iniated. The first phase of the approval procedure, the so-called Regional Planning Procedure (Raumordnungsverfahren or ROV) was concluded in June 2002. The decisive second phase, the Zoning Procedure (Planstellungsverfahren or PFV ) began in the fall of 2003.
On December 18 2007, the Hesse Minister of economics, transport, and state development, Alois Riehl, signed the zoning decision on airport expansion. The new runway is expected to be inaugurated no later than the 2011 winter timetable.
Mediation Prcedure
Regional Dialog Forum
Regional Planning Procedure
Zoning Procedure
Mediation procedure and Regional Dialog Forum (RDF)
Since the very beginning of the debate over expansion, it has been the declared goal of Fraport AG to expand the airport in consensus with the majority of the population in the surrounding region. So we sought dialog with local residents and used every opportunity to make our position clear, to answer criticism and to develop compromises to meet the interests of all involved.
Key milestones on this way included our participation in the mediation procedure on airport expansion and our 10-point program for reducing noise and preventing sleep disturbances. This program is currently being implemented. An ongoing contribution to finding consensus is also our participation in the Regional Dialog Forum.
The task for mediation
In the summer of 1998, the state government of Hesse proposed a mediation procedure on the expansion of Frankfurt Airport. This form of open-ended conciliation procedure strives for the maximum possible consensus among all groups affected and can thus prepare for political decisions that a parliamentary majority will support. Representatives of local residents, the airport and other aviation companies as well as representatives from politics and the business world were involved in the mediation.
Topics for mediation
Various topics relevant to the expansion of our airport were analyzed, debated and assessed as part of the mediation. The mediation procedure lasted well over one and a half years, during which there were 24 conferences and 15 expert hearings and technical discussions. Some 20 expert opinions on transportation, environmental and economic topics were commissioned. A total of 129 experts were called in to give advice.
Recommendations by the mediators
The mediators' final report was submitted on January 31, 2000, in Wiesbaden, the state capital. While the recommendations it contains are not legally binding, they were accounted for to the maximum possible extent by Fraport AG and politics during the decision making process.
The core of the mediators' final report was an overall package of recommendations and proposals, which comprised "five inseparably linked components":
- Optimization of the existing system
- Capacity increase through expansion
- A ban on night flights and night flight restrictions
- Anti-noise pact
- Regional Dialog Forum
The Regional Dialog Forum (RDF)
With the Regional Dialog Forum (RDF), the mediators wanted to create an entity that would accompany the further process of airport expansion with the interests of the residents and communities affected in mind and that would address all the questions raised in the public debate. The RDF is a key instance for consultation, clarification, and decision-making as part of the ongoing expansion debate.
Working groups on the following topics have been set up as part of the Regional Dialog Forum:
- A ban on night flights
- Anti-noise pact
- Ecology and health
- Airport optimization
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Development of long-term perspectives
Regional planning procedure
The so-called regional planning procedure (ROV) was the first phase in examining the legitimacy of expanding the airport. In principle, it was about the responsible authority – the Darmstadt Administrative District Board – reviewing and comparing the expansion options submitted by Fraport AG. The key elements of the procedure were the Regional Planning Compatibility Review (e.g., residential developments), and the Environmental Compatibility Review (e.g., woodland and space consumption). The ROV is a government internal administrative harmonization process, which, however, also involves the public.
Results of the regional planning procedure
The ROV was initiated in mid-October 2001 with a public notification in the Hesse State Gazette and concluded with the presentation of the Regional Planning Evaluation Report on June 10, 2002. This stated that "regional planning compatibility can be achieved" with the submitted Northwest runway option and the new maneuvering areas to be constructed in the south of the airport. In practical terms this meant that as soon as the conditions called for by the Regional Planning Evaluation Report were met, zoning request could be filed for both the Northwest runway project and for the new Terminal 3. The Northeast runway option was also considered to be compliant with the regional plan but it had substantial drawbacks compared to the Northwest option. However, the third option investigated, a Southern takeoff and landing runway, did not comply with the regional plan and was thus dropped from further review.
Zoning procedure
The zoning procedure (PFV) is an approval procedure under German public law for obtaining zoning permission. As part of the zoning procedure, environmental compatibility of the requested development is studied again in depth, taking into account the first environmental evaluation made during the regional planning procedure.
Parties involved in the PFV
Among those participating in the PFV are:
- The examining authority (Darmstadt Administrative District Board)
- The regional planning authority (Hessian Ministry for Economics, Transportation, Urban and Regional Development)
- The project owner (Fraport AG)
- Other participants: Municipalities and regional bodies, representatives of public interest groups (e.g., technical authorities, nature conservation associations), private individuals affected
Zoning application
Upon completion of the application documents, a zoning application was filed with the Darmstadt Administrative District Board on September 9, 2003. The documentation did not only state the reasons for the planned expansion but also contained a request to restrict scheduled flight operations at FRA between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. when the new runway goes into operation.
The administrative district board reviewed the documents and, in February 2004, requested Fraport to enhance the documents submitted. The district board also provided suggestions on how to supplement and improve the documentation. In November 2004, the Darmstadt Administrative District Board confirmed in principle that the zoning documentation was complete.
Zoning documents
The application documents prepared by Fraport AG included some 20,000 pages of text, around 1000 drawings and maps and 40 expert opinions, as well as the complete technical planning of the facilities needed for capacity expansion. The need for expansion is explained in detail and all individual application items are extensively substantiated. The submitted documents also focus on key issues such as environmental compatibility, aircraft noise and the night flight ban, as well as safety issues.
The zoning documents were handed to the examining authority to be made available for public inspection in 57 local communities and for a total of 327 public authorities, associations and others.
Zoning decision
The zoning procedure concludes with a zoning decision (Planfeststellungsbeschluss), which either proposes approval or denial of the proposed plan. The zoning decision is the legally binding decision for the airport's expansion. It regulates all relationships under public law between the project owner and those affected by the plan. On December 18 2008, the Hesse Minister of economics, transport, and state development, Alois Riehl, signed the zoning decision on airport expansion. The new runway is expected to be inaugurated no later than the 2011 winter timetable.
