15 municipalities around the airport continue to oppose the segmented approach, which has been tested in several phases in trial operation at the airport since March 1, 2021. If they are taken over in regular operation, they fear further noise pollution. Those affected have drawn up a resolution and are announcing legal remedies. A letter was also sent yesterday to the responsible aircraft noise commission.
District of Offenbach – The group includes towns and communities from the districts of Offenbach, Darmstadt-Dieburg, Groß-Gerau and Mainz-Bingen. In addition to Neu-Isenburg, these include Heusenstamm, Dietzenbach, Hainburg, Mainhausen, Obertshausen, Rödermark, Rodgau and Seligenstadt from the Offenbach district. The segmented approach is rejected in a resolution because a significant increase in noise is to be expected – with very little relief from cities such as Offenbach and Mainz.
The next step is to appeal against the trial operation, which will be continued in a second phase. Heusenstamm, Neu-Isenburg and Rüsselsheim appear as model plaintiffs. They are represented by lawyer Thomas Mehler from the Haldenwang law firm in Frankfurt. The aim is to stop the trial operation and thus to stop the noise shift associated with the approach procedure to the detriment of the 15 municipalities as quickly as possible.
“We represent around 350,000 citizens in the middle of the Rhine-Main area,” says Heusenstamm’s Mayor Steffen Ball on behalf of the 15 municipalities. So far, their concerns have not been allayed. It is therefore only logical to take legal action against the extended trial operation now.
“In our opinion, the disadvantages clearly outweigh the minor advantages,” emphasizes Neu-Isenburg’s Mayor Dirk Gene Hagelstein. He can understand that cities like Offenbach and Mainz support the segmented approach. Of course, the 15 municipalities are also in favor of reducing aircraft noise, but only if everyone benefits from it, says Hagelstein.
In the opinion of the 15 municipalities, an all-day trial operation is illegal because it is not covered by the legal system. One of the main arguments is that the segmented approach creates new victims in areas that previously had little or no impact from aircraft noise. These newly affected people would not have the opportunity to apply for passive noise protection. The health-related factors such as “nocturnal waking reactions” would increase. A slight reduction in noise, as forecast for Offenbach, for example, is not perceived by the population. An isolated consideration of aircraft noise does not cover the actual exposure to other noise emissions. “Existing rail and road noise is already making large areas of our residential areas noisy,” write the municipalities. The segmented approach is also not flyable for them. In the second phase of trial operation, the first results would show that with increasing traffic and the parallel dependency of the runways, only a small number of approaches could be handled in this way. On the other hand, greater efforts in active noise abatement, such as a steeper approach procedure, are advocated.
Since the start of the trial operation in 2021, the mayors have been in intensive exchange. Obertshausen’s Mayor Manuel Friedrich thanks you for your solidarity and joint action to protect the affected population. OK
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