After Corona, a lot is different, also in air traffic. The state government draws consequences from this – to the displeasure of the FDP.
Munich (dpa/lby) – the CSU and Freie Wahler are refraining from developing an in-depth Bavarian airport concept as announced in their coalition agreement. This emerges from the response of the Ministry of Transport to a parliamentary question by the FDP. This is justified with the completely changed framework conditions in air traffic since the Corona crisis and the worsening situation on the energy market. The traffic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Sebastian Körber, accused the state government of neglecting the air traffic location.
In their coalition agreement from autumn 2018, the CSU and Free Voters set themselves the goal of developing an airport concept that “takes into account the requirements of Bavaria as a business location and includes the role of Munich Airport as the leading European air traffic hub and strengthens the importance of Nuremberg and Memmingen Airports”. . The concept should include, for example, improved traffic development at Munich Airport, stronger networking between Bavarian airports and a concept for reducing CO2, pollutant and noise emissions.
The Ministry of Transport is now arguing that the framework conditions for air traffic have changed fundamentally since the coalition agreement. The corona crisis and the slump in demand in air traffic have not yet been overcome. “Passenger demand is still well below the pre-crisis level, and the changed travel behavior is still having a significant impact.” At the same time, the situation on the energy market is deteriorating. Against this background, no “conceptual airport concept” will be created.
Körber criticized: “Right from the start, the so-called airport concept was a rotten compromise in order to take the controversial issue of the third runway off the political agenda. Now that the state government has been beating around the bush for four years and promoting other issues, it’s over you now without a word the Bavarian airport concept.”
How should things continue and what is the state government doing to strengthen the air traffic location? “No such thing,” complained Körber. “Especially after Corona, it would have been all the more important to develop a comprehensive strategy to ensure the international competitiveness of Bavaria as a business location.” After all, it is also about modernizing the infrastructure for the coming decades.
In fact, the CSU and Free Voters have always disagreed on the third runway for Munich Airport. The joint coalition agreement therefore states: “The plans for their construction will therefore not be pursued during the current legislative period.”
