German court upholds night-flight ban in Frankfurt

Lufthansa flights operating out of Frankfurt Airport will continue to suffer for quite some time because of a night-flight ban being provisionally upheld by a German court.

Even as Frankfurt Airport risks losing international competitiveness, Lufthansa has made it quite clear that it will be providing further evidence of the need for night flights at Frankfurt during further court proceedings.

The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig recently ruled that the night-flight regulation defined in the planning approval notice cannot be sustained.

The court ruling, therefore, stipulates that the ban on night flights from Frankfurt will remain in force until further notice.

The ruling continues to cause sufferings for the airline as it fears long-term adverse effects of a severe nature for Frankfurt's position as an aviation center.

Lufthansa is unable to operate flights because of the absolute night-flight ban at Frankfurt Airport covering a period of six hours, from 11 pm to 5 am.

Christoph Franz, Chairman of the Executive Board and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said that Frankfurt, Hesse, and even Germany, as an export and logistics nation, would be adversely impacted. He termed the court ruling as a terrible blow to Germany's reputation as a place to do business. He also feared that one of Europe's largest hubs will fall behind in international competition.