Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – In the dispute over a new departure route at Stuttgart Airport, the Aircraft Noise Commission recommends testing the new variant for a year. The decision to do so was made with a narrow majority, said the chairman of the commission and mayor of Ostfildern, Christof Bolay, on Tuesday. The German Air Traffic Control, the Federal Supervisory Office for Air Traffic Control and the Federal Ministry of Transport are now responsible for approving the trial operation. With the green light, test operations could start in the first quarter of 2023, said Bolay. Initially, several media reported on the decision.
According to Bolay, the test operation with a maximum of two starts per hour should measure the level of noise pollution, CO2 emissions and kerosene consumption on the new departure route. After that, the Commission will decide whether to recommend the new route permanently for departures from Stuttgart Airport. An expert opinion came to the conclusion in March that the new route would only have a minor impact on aircraft noise for local residents. Some municipalities would be less affected by noise, others more.
The airlines Lufthansa and Eurowings had proposed the new departure route to the south. Some citizens’ initiatives want to prevent the change. The citizens’ initiatives “United against aircraft noise” criticized Monday’s decision as “introducing the new route through the back door”. Commission chief Bolay, on the other hand, spoke of a “bridge to the critics”.
