US embassy cable - 04FRANKFURT4611

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 004611 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EB/TRA BYERLY, PARSON, FINSTON, WALKLET 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS AND EUR/ERA 
FAA FOR API-1, AEE-1, AIA-300 AND ASC 
PARIS ALSO FOR FAA 
THE HAGUE PLEASE PASS AMSTERDAM 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR, ECON, PGOV, SENV, GM 
SUBJECT: Frankfurt Airport Expansion Delayed At Least Two 
Years 
 
REF: A) 2003 FRANKFURT 01549; B) 2003 STATE 29193 C) 2002 
 
FRANKFURT 5496; D) 2003 FRANKFURT 09273 
 
Sensitive but unclassified;  Not for internet distribution. 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY:  Frankfurt Airport's expansion now faces at 
least a two-year delay, meaning a fourth runway will not 
open until at least 2009.  The Hesse government announced 
the delay on May 25, blaming the airport authority (Fraport) 
and refusing to set a new target date.  The political 
opposition called the setback a major defeat for Minister 
President Roland Koch (CDU), who has closely associated 
himself with the airport expansion plans.  Airlines warn 
that further delays could undermine Frankfurt's position 
relative to other European airports and mean job losses. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2. (U) Hesse Economics Minister Alois Rhiel (CDU - Christian 
Democrat) announced May 25 that the construction of a fourth 
runway at Frankfurt airport will be delayed "at least two 
years" past 2007.  Rhiel refused to set a new timeline until 
the airport resolves safety concerns associated with the 
Ticona chemical plant located near the planned runway (refs 
C,D).  He blamed airport management for the delay, saying 
that Fraport could have submitted regulatory requests two 
years earlier and that Fraport's submissions understated 
problems with the chemical plant and wildlife preservation 
areas.  NOTE: The state government -- which until now had 
defended Fraport and the 2007 target date -- now echoes 
criticism by the regional zoning authority which last 
November called Fraport's studies "sloppy" and inadequate. 
END NOTE. 
 
3. (U) Fraport managers claim they can live with the delay 
by optimizing slot usage at existing runways.  Airline reps 
generally agreed, but warned that they might move flights to 
Paris, Amsterdam or London if expansion is further delayed. 
Lufthansa, Fraport's main customer, said its plans would not 
be affected since most of Lufthansa's growth in the past 
five years has occurred at Munich (the airline's second 
hub).  Lufthansa Cargo pointed out a bright side to the 
delay:  "Every year without a night-flight ban is good for 
us."  (NOTE: Frankfurt Airport will eliminate night-flights 
once the fourth runway comes into operation. END NOTE). 
Business associations used the occasion to criticize onerous 
German bureaucracy and to warn that Frankfurt could lose its 
attractiveness for many businesses. 
 
4. (U) The political opposition held Minister-President 
Roland Koch (CDU) personally responsible.  SPD (Social 
Democrat) caucus chief Juergen Walter blamed Koch for 
Fraport's sloppy and flawed approach -- including its 
neglect of safety issues -- pointing out that Koch served as 
chairman of Fraport's supervisory board when it formally 
applied for expansion.  The Greens, who oppose the 
expansion, declared the project dead.  Christian Jochum, 
head of the German Safety Commission, remarked that the 
airport should not seek approval from the European 
Commission (which expressed concerns about Ticona last year) 
until safety issues are further addressed (refs C, D). 
 
5. (SBU) COMMENT: The expansion of Frankfurt is not only the 
largest infrastructure project in Germany, but also one of 
Koch's main projects as Minister President.  An early 
advocate of the controversial north-west runway (next to the 
Ticona plant), Koch could suffer politically if the 
expansion project falls further behind.  Hesse's inability 
to set a new and credible timetable is a bad signal to 
airlines, who could look elsewhere to expand operations. 
Fraport's mishandling of expansion and its disastrous 
involvement in the Manila airport project (where it lost 
almost 500 million Euros - REF A) mean that Koch will have 
to throw his full weight behind the project to secure 
Frankfurt's role as a leading hub in Europe.  END COMMENT. 
 
BODDE