Fraport Cleared to Expand Frankfurt Airport

German airport operator Fraport AG said a court has cleared its €4 billion ($5.7 billion) plan to expand Frankfurt’s main international airport, the final step allowing a fourth runway and third terminal to be built at Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s main hub.

The plan, which was approved by the administrative court of the state of Hesse, will allow Fraport to build Runway Northwest, the new runway it hopes to open in the winter of 2011. The new runway will allow 120 aircraft movements per hour and the new terminal, with 75 new aircraft positions, will have the capacity to handle 25 million passengers. The airport handled nearly 53.5 million passengers in 2008.

The move comes as other large European airports are also considering expansion plans, even though the industry is undergoing one of its worst-ever downturns as economic woes have slashed passenger numbers and cargo volumes. With 40,462 takeoffs and landings, Fraport recorded a 5.3% fall in aircraft movements from a year earlier in July.

In each case, expansion plans have polarized opinion, with businesses saying expansion is key to the growth of the economy, and local and environmental campaigners complaining about noise levels and the environmental impact.

The U.K. government earlier this year approved plans for a third runway at London’s Heathrow airport, Frankfurt’s larger competitor as one of Europe’s major hub airports. The decision came after intense lobbying by businesses and the airport operator BAA, who said Heathrow’s expansion was key to maintaining the competitiveness of the airport and to future growth of the U.K. economy.

However, the U.K.’s main opposition party has pledged to reverse the decision if it wins an election that must be called by next May, backing local residents and the environmental campaigners. Under current plans, Heathrow’s new runway would start being built in 2015 and is slated for completion in 2019.

The expansion in Frankfurt is causing a battle over night flights.

The state of Hesse’s local zoning authority recently reduced the number of flights allowed at Frankfurt airport between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. to 17, from about 40, and local campaigners had called for an outright ban.

However, Fraport and Lufthansa, who want more night flights allowed, had asked the court to rule. But the court effectively deflected a decision, saying that the state of Hesse must come up with new rules.

“Ultimately, the issue will presumably be decided at the highest court level,” said Stefan Schulte, Fraport’s executive board vice chairman, who heads up the expansion project.

“We regret that the court didn’t listen to our argument,” a Lufthansa spokesman said.

Lufthansa has said a ban or reduction in night flights will further hurt its cargo operations, which have already seen volumes decline sharply due to the downturn in world trade. Airlines run most of their cargo operations overnight.

The Lufthansa spokesman said that without night flights, Frankfurt Airport would be cut off from global cargo flight traffic and left on the sidelines.

Lufthansa will wait for the court to publish its written decision and opinions before deciding how best to proceed, the spokesman said.