Lufthansa shelve plans for a hub at Frankfurt
November 21, 2011
Lufthansa Cargo, the freight arm of Germany’s largest airline, has shelved plans to invest around €1 billion (US$1.35 billion) at Frankfurt Airport, as a result of the night-flight ban there.
“Lufthansa still wants to invest, but the size is dependent on the night flight regulations,” a spokesman said on Friday.
The airline group had also planned a new logistics centre, as well as a new administration building.
A court in Hesse has banned flights at Germany’s largest airport between 11pm and 5am, following an appeal by residents over the noise.
Lufthansa Cargo said being forced to switch its night freighter services to airports other than Frankfurt could cost the carrier millions.
The provisional ban is impacting LC’s winter schedule for 10 nightly Frankfurt flights.
If the ban became permanent, it could cost the carrier somewhere in the “double-digit millions of euros,” LC CEO Karl Ulrich Garnadt said last month.
Analysts have put the cost at between €30 and €50 million.
The decision affects 30% of LC’s daily freighter departures from Frankfurt and means Lufthansa Cargo has been forced to restructure 80% of services, Garnadt said.
Courtesy of IFW
