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The people of Zurich say yes to longer slopes. This unsettles border communities – not for the first time.
Zurich Airport is getting an extension for two of its runways. The people of Zurich approved this on Sunday with almost 62 percent. The election results in southern Germany do not cause much joy. The fears: more flight movements, more noise. “With the extension, more heavier aircraft can fly to and from Germany. We fear that air traffic pollution could increase,” says Jürgen Wiener, mayor of Hohentengen on the Upper Rhine. The small German town is only 20 kilometers away from Zurich Airport as the crow flies.
Bettina Kunz from Zurich Airport contradicts: “Only one aircraft can take off or land on a runway at a time. Therefore, capacity cannot be increased due to the extended runways.” An Empa report also shows that the slope extensions would have no impact on noise in southern Germany. “Nothing will change in the departure routes. “All aircraft taking off before the German border continue to turn east and west,” says Kunz.
Empa: Study on aircraft noise
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Zurich Airport has commissioned the Swiss Federal Materials Testing and Research Institute Empa to investigate the change in noise pollution when the runways are extended. The conclusion:
- The reduction of southern approaches in the evening results in the south lower noise pollution.
- Im west This results in a slight reduction in noise, as an extended runway 28 is increasingly used for landings and is therefore less available for take-offs.
- Thanks to the extended take-off runway, almost all long-haul aircraft can head towards runway 32 Norden start. Compared to a takeoff on runway 34, the aircraft take off on runway 32 a little further north. The planes climb quickly after take-off, which is why the noise impact further away is very low.
- Due to the more stable easterly concept, there will be fewer isolated southerly approaches and fewer unplanned changes to the southerly concept in the evening. As provided for in the operating regulations, these approaches take place from the east.
Nevertheless, German politicians are now taking action. Three members of the Bundestag have commented on the Zurich vote. One of them is Andreas Jung from the CDU. We respect the decision of the Zurich voters, but “we expect our German federal government to represent our southern Baden interests vis-à-vis Switzerland in Bern,” says Jung. “We expect that concrete discussions will be started about aircraft noise pollution.”
Southern Germany’s concern as early as August 2022
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As early as August 2022, when the extension of the runway was being discussed in the Zurich Cantonal Council, the Viennese and also the Baden-Wüttemberg Ministry of Transport spoke up. “We fear that the number of take-offs and landings per hour will increase,” said the spokesman for the Ministry of Transport in Stuttgart at the time. The airport operator wrote: “There is no connection between runway length and capacity.”
Discussions have been going on for a long time. Zurich Airport is in contact with the southern German authorities about current airport issues. It is said that there was regular information about the project in the run-up to the vote.
But concrete discussions are a matter for the federal government. But these have not taken place in the last two years, says Andreas Jung. “It’s part of good neighborliness to put your cards on the table, talk to each other, ask what problems could arise and then find good solutions.”
Upon request, the responsible Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) said: “Baden-Württemberg and the districts had already commented on this sectoral plan process in 2016 and 2017 as part of the consultation and participation that took place at the time. […] The Federal Council has 2017 […] “We have decided to operate on extended slopes for safety reasons, taking into account the above-mentioned statements.”
Legend: The clear yes to extending the runways at Zurich Airport is viewed critically in Germany. KEYSTONE/Ennio Leanza
But what happens next? The mayor of Vienna, for example, is suggesting a solution: a state treaty. “We have to think about whether a state treaty with lean regulations could be a solution. Then it would be regulated exactly how high the air traffic load can be in which direction.”
Could Germany and Switzerland agree on conditions? After all, this would not be the first attempt at an agreement. A negotiated state treaty was rejected by the Swiss Parliament and the German Federal Council in the early 2000s.
2024-03-06 05:04:24
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