Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel visits Lufthansa Cargo

Briefing for SPD Chairman on the consequences of preliminary night-flight ban

The Social Democrat party chairman and the opposition parliamentary chief in the regional state assembly in Hesse, Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel, visited Lufthansa Cargo on 8th November to update on the impact of the provisional night-flight ban in Frankfurt on the flight operations of Germany’s biggest cargo carrier. Besides talks with the Executive Board, he spoke to representatives of the works council as well as  freight handling staff and pilots.

The logistics and airfreight industry are supremely important  to the business base in the Rhine-Main region, emphasised the SPD leader. “In the ongoing discussions on a night-flight ban, I attach major importance to the concerns of the Company and especially the employees about the future viability of the region. But the SPD will honour the pledge to guarantee the region a night-flight ban to compensate for the additional noise nuisance from the new runway.”

In contrast, Lufthansa Cargo Chairman Karl Ulrich Garnadt underlined the imperative need for night flights in the logistics industry in Hesse: “Germany is the logistics world champion and Frankfurt Airport is the Country’s cornerstone as an exporting nation. A minimum of night flights is indispensable to further expansion and safeguard the employment prospects of tens of thousands of local employees,” the Chairman insisted.“

Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel and Karl Ulrich Garnadt agreed to continue their good and constructive dialogue, also after the final ruling on night flights scheduled to be reached by the highest administrative court in Leipzig next year.

The provisional ban, barring night flights at Frankfurt Airport between 11 pm and 5 am, has been in force since 30 October.  Its imposition has forced Lufthansa Cargo to cancel some flights and reschedule others at night-time to North America via additional stopovers at Cologne/Bonn Airport.