Mittsommer - HahnAirport Magazin

expected in the early stage. The company
operating the airport has to invest large sums
of money each year for necessary improvements
causing rising depreciations to be
taken into account. As a result the airport is in
the red. Actually, the operational business
should be used as a base to get an insight
into the situation. And there you can see clearly
the positive results of the annual report,
the Hahn is profitable.
Every now and then there are rumors about
the state’s subventions for the economic airline
Ryanair. A reward is paid for each arriving
passenger. Is this true?
No. This and similar statements are all false
reports.
So far there are only discount airlines and
charter companies operating at Hahn Airport.
Do you think, that in the near future
traditional airlines with scheduled flights
will include Hahn in their flight plans? As
the new and improved runway with it’s 3800
m easily allows cross atlantic flights…
At the moment 50 destinations can be reached
via the Hahn,all of them having the characteristics
of a regular scheduled flight.
Today the concept discount airline, a novelty
back in the nineties, is well established on the
market and the sector continues to grow. At
the same time the traditional airlines are
adapting their old structures and flight offers.
Experts estimate that the differences between
traditional and discount airlines will soon
become insignificant. Thanks to the extension
of the runway the long distance sector will
grow considerably, especially the air freight
sector.
At Zweibrücken another civil airport is
expanding in Rhineland Palatinate. With
only 120 kilometres separating the two airports!
Hasn’t the state created a dangerous
competitor for the Hahn Airport?
The two airports in Rhineland Palatinate
are based on two different concepts and
work on two different markets. Hahn is and
will be the hub for the low cost sector and
will continue to expand the successful air
freight sector. In both businesses Hahn is
amongst the leaders of the German market.
Zweibrücken concentrates on the international
cross border charter traffic in south
western Germany. None of the plans for
Zweibrücken will interfere with the developments
taking place at the Hahn.
The airport still lacks four lane motorways to
the east and to the west. When will these be
available?
From the Rheinböllen junction on the A 61
to Simmern (East) the B 50 has already been
expanded to four lanes. For the section from
the airport to simmern (East) we have managed
to establish the construction regulations
for all three sectors in record time. Only 4 and
a half years for 21 km. The western and
eastern section are currently under construction,
the central section will soon follow. We
expect completion of the frist sectors from
2008 on. Concerning the improvement of the
accessibility of the airport on the western
side, several improvements will be implemented
at the junctions and slopes of the B 327
and B 50. At the same time a new section is
under construction between the B 50 and the
A 1 intersection from Wittlich to Platten. We
have made an important step for the continuation
of the section from Platten to Longkamp
including the pièce de resistance, the
Moselle crossing. In October 2006 we established
the Plan Approval. Unfortunately the
organization BUND went to court against this
resolution. But we expect the court to grant
us the right to build. Afterwards we will
immediately start to work on the preparation
of the construction and the construction itself.
Often the idea of connecting Hahn to the
railway is mentioned. Either via the old
Hunsrück route or via a new high speed rail
line. Is this mere speculation or are there any
concrete plans to establish a railroad connection
between the two airports Frankfurt and
Hahn?
We have very concrete plans to connect
Langenlonsheim via Simmern and Büchenbeuren
right up to at least the city of Mainz by
reactivating the old Hunrück route. In
November 2006 a Letter of Intent has been
signed by the federal government, the German
railroad Bahn and by the state. In general
the cost distribution has been agreed
HahnAirport Magazin · Herbst/Winter 06/07
Interview
upon and the necessary preparations are
going full steam ahead. The date of the first
trains departure depends heavily upon the
evolution of the legal procedures, especially
concerning level crossings.
With 17,5% the state Rhineland Palatinate
is share holder of the airport company.
Other federal states sell their shares of private
companies to improve their money situation.
Is the minister of economic affairs from
Mainz sometimes tempted to do the same?
In 2005 the state has taken the last privatization
measure for the time being. The
states shares of the airport company have
been reduced to 17,5%. A further reduction
or total sale can not be taken into consideration.
For a simple reason: An airport is not
only a hub for air line traffic, the airport is an
important factor for the development and
the future of a whole region. Especially Hahn
Airport in the Hunsrück and it’s neighbouring
regions Moselle, Middle Rhine and Nahe.
With it’s share the government has enough
influence to assure that the interests of the
citizens living in the region will be taken into
account.
What is your prognosis for Hahn Airport in
the next ten years Hahn Airport?
In 1999 the airport Frankfurt-Hahn introduced
the concept of discount flights in continental
Europe. A concept successfully established
on the market. In the airfreight sector
Hahn is on the fourth place of a list of all
www.aboutpixel.de
·
German airports. The youngest and most
dynamic airport of Germany will continue to
influence and improve the air traffic, even
Frankfurt-Hahn
more than before. Experts predict a growing
number of passengers and an excellent
Flughafen
growth rate of the air freight sector. Fotos:
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