Lufthansa hit as Frankfurt night flight ban upheld

Reuters: A German court on Wednesday ruled in favour of a night flight ban at Frankfurt airport, Europe’s third busiest, dealing a blow to German flagship airline Lufthansa and airport operator Fraport.

Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), which says night flights are crucial for its cargo operations and to compete with fast-growing Gulf airports, said the decision would have serious consequences for Germany as a place to do business.

“This is a good day for our rivals in Paris, London, Amsterdam and Dubai,” Chief Executive Christoph Franz told journalists.

He added the decision by a judge at a federal court in Leipzig to ban flights at Frankfurt between 11pm and 5am in response to complaints about the noise from residents would affect decisions on where Lufthansa makes future investments.

The ruling hurt shares in Lufthansa and Fraport, with Lufthansa down 4.6 percent at 1424 GMT and Fraport losing 2.4 percent.

Lufthansa Cargo said it would make a decision on future investment plans of up to 1 billion euros late in the third quarter.

“We have to wait and see how customers react to the summer flight plan,” Cargo Chief Executive Karl-Ulrich Garnadt said, confirming that the ban would cost it 40 million euros in lost earnings a year.

Lufthansa’s cargo arm, which had a 2011 operating profit of 249 million euros, had switched flights to Cologne during the winter but Garnadt said this was a “flop”, as it was impossible to relocate from its Frankfurt hub, where it also uses the belly space in Lufthansa passenger aircraft.

The judge said the state of Hesse, where Frankfurt is located, made mistakes in deciding to allow 17 flights during the night without proper consultation with stakeholders when approving expansion of the airport.

The judge said the state could now make a new decision on night flights, but warned there was little room for manoeuvre. Local transport minister Dieter Posch said Hesse would implement the ban “100 percent”.

Along with a total ban from 11 pm to 5 am, the Leipzig court also reduced the number of flights permitted in the period covering the so-called shoulder hours from 10 pm to 6 am to 133 from 150.