Offenbach airport director criticizes Lufthansa's plans to expand short-haul routes

Local authorities affected by aircraft noise are critical of Lufthansa's plans to offer more flights within German cities. Paul-Gerhard Weiß, Head of Offenbach Airport, speaks up from his vacation. Weiß refers to the demand that has existed for more than 20 years to shift short-haul traffic to rail. "Not only noise protection for local residents, but also the necessary climate protection speak in favor of replacing such flights by rail. This is also possible without any loss of quality for passengers," says Weiß. In recent years, Lufthansa has also made very good efforts to work more closely with the railroads.

Weiß expects Lufthansa, as Germany's largest airline, which also handles more than 60 percent of traffic at Frankfurt Airport, to live up to its responsibility in terms of noise protection and climate protection. Weiß emphasized that Lufthansa, as a premium airline, "is not fulfilling its responsibility for people and the environment by increasing the development of domestic German air traffic".