Construction Measures for the A380 Superjumbo Require Separate Zoning Procedure; Fraport AG Hopes That Lufthansa Will Base Its New Quiet and Low-emission Wid

FRANKFURT 13. 6. (ots/PROTEXT) - Fraport AG FrankfurtAirport Services Worldwide will file a separate zoning request(project approval procedure or Planfeststellungsverfahren) forthe construction of maintenance facilities and runwayadaptations required for operating and maintaining the new AirbusA380 widebody jets at Frankfurt Airport (FRA). DeutscheLufthansa AG has made it quite clear in recent weeks that it wasindispensable for Fraport AG immediately to create the necessarylegal conditions in terms of the planning required for zoning.

"We must meet this legitimate request for planning securityof our main customer," said Fraport AG's executive boardchairman, Dr. Wilhelm Bender. Fraport AG plans to file a zoningrequest for this project already in October of this year,separate from the zoning request for construction of the newrunway.

The upgrading has nothing to do with expansion of the runwaysystem. The A380 will be used in air transportation independentof FRA's expansion.

Being able to accommodate this type of aircraft and offeringLufthansa the basic conditions for stationing its A380 fleet atFRA is a sine qua non for Frankfurt Airport to ensure itsfuture.

"By separating the approval procedure for this project fromthe partly disputed issue of expanding FRA's runway system,Fraport AG hopes to reach a consensus with all parties involvedand thus immediately create the planning security whichLufthansa legitimately claims", said Prof. Manfred Schölch,Fraport's executive board vice chairman. "Ultimately, thisproject represents a vital step toward securing Frankfurt'sfuture position in air transportation."

The required measures include, above all, construction of amaintenance hangar for Lufthansa's new superjumbo - includingassociated buildings and other facilities such as taxiways andparking areas - on an approximately 20 hectare site at thesouthern part of the airport.

Fraport points out that Frankfurt Airport is not only thecentral European hub for Lufthansa and its Star Allianceinternational partners but also its maintenance center.

"To maintain Frankfurt Airport's central function," Bendersaid, "Lufthansa must be able to operate the ordered A380aircraft via FRA and to overhaul them here."

A particularly positive feature of the A380 is that despitebeing larger than the Boeing 747-400, currently the largestpassenger aircraft, it will be quieter and less polluting.Lufthansa plans to take its first A380 into service in 2007.Some other airlines in the Star Alliance will operate this Airbustype starting 2006.

When the Markwald and Gundwald forest area betweenRüsselsheim and Walldorf (near FRA) were recently declared anature preserve, Fraport AG revised its planning so thatconstruction of maintenance facilities would not touch this birdsanctuary. Thus, the planning area for maintenance facilities,considered in the Regional Planning Procedure (ROV orRaumordnungsverfahren), has been partly moved to the southeast bythe airport operator.

ots Original Text Service: Fraport AG Internet:http://www.presseportal.de

For More Information, Please Contact: Fraport AG FrankfurtAirport Services Worldwide Attn: Robert A. Payne - ManagerInternational Press 60547 Frankfurt am Main, Germany Tel.: +49 69690 -78547 Fax: +49 69 690 -60548 E-Mail: r.payne@fraport.deInternet: www.fraport.com

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