Offenbach on the subject of Frankfurt Airport
Around 490,000 aircraft movements have taken place since the new north-west runway went into operation between October 2011 and 2012; only in three months of the year was Offenbach not flown over in operating direction 25, i.e. on approach. 80 percent of the urban area is located in noise protection zones; of 254 existing facilities requiring protection, such as schools, kindergartens and hospitals, 228 are located in no-build zones.
Offenbach defends itself against overload
"The City of Offenbach has repeatedly emphasized that it is not fundamentally opposed to the expansion of the airport, but that it must be carried out in a spatially compatible manner. This is not the case and Offenbach is more affected by the expansion than any other municipality," said Mayor and Head of Airport Peter Schneider at the presentation of the 10-point list of demands adopted by the city council: from lowering the upper noise limit to 50 dB(A) during the day, increasing the approach angle to 3.5 degrees, setting the number of aircraft movements at 300,000 per year and the renewed demand for a ban on night flights between 10.00 p.m. and 10.00 a.m.000 per year and the renewed demand for a ban on night flights between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.: "When it comes to the health of citizens, there must be no compromises and no priority for commercial operations," Schneider continued. In addition, the tailwind component should be gradually reduced, as this means that Offenbach is approached from the east on an average of 274 days a year in westerly operations. "However," Schneider clarifies, "it is not our aim to increase the burden on communities in the west of the airport by reducing the tailwind component."
Just as in the interaction with local and regional citizens' initiatives, it is also important to balance the different interests here. This also applies to another point in the list of demands, namely permanent financial compensation for all municipalities affected by noise.
100 million euros are required in Offenbach alone to guarantee noise protection for all municipal facilities in need of protection. In addition, a further 200 million euros will have to be spent by private property owners and housing associations on passive noise protection.
The City of Offenbach is therefore demanding that Fraport AG pay a fixed annual amount of ten percent of the income from airport charges into a regional fund. For particularly loud aircraft, an additional fee is to be levied as a "noise thaler". "The criterion for the implementation of each individual component must be the reduction in the number of people affected," continued the airport director, who intends to vehemently defend the list of demands to those responsible at German Air Traffic Control (DFS) and Fraport AG.