Dusseldorf (dpa / lnw) – At the request of aircraft noise opponents, the Dusseldorf Administrative Court has threatened the NRW Ministry of Transport with a fine of 10,000 euros and set a deadline for the release of information. It is about information on the work of a committee that deals with violations of the airlines and Düsseldorf Airport against night flight regulations, such as the association “Kaarster gegen Fluglärm e.V.” announced on Tuesday. In the case, a court spokeswoman confirmed the threat of a fine with a decision dated December 30, 2022 and a deadline of January 13, 2023.
The NRW Environment and Transport Ministry announced on Tuesday that it intends to implement the court decision of December 30th in a timely manner. However, only information that has not been blocked by the federal government or an airline can be released, said a ministry spokesman. Since the delivery of a decision by the Higher Administrative Court in July 2022, the NRW Ministry has requested permission for publication from the Federal Ministry of Transport and flight control. However, both bodies objected to the publication of their information by writing to the NRW Ministry at the beginning of December.
The citizens’ initiative was heavily criticized: “It is a scandal that a ministry has been delaying the exercise of information rights for more than six years,” said the association’s chairman, Werner Kindsmüller. He described the most recent decision of the administrative court in the year-long dispute as a third slap in the face against the Ministry of Transport. He referred to the North Rhine-Westphalia Freedom of Information Act. In view of the permanent and longstanding violations of the night flight regulations, there is a public interest in knowing what the ministry has done about it, he stressed.
Kindsmüller also criticized Environment and Transport Minister Oliver Krischer (Greens), who has been in office since the end of June. “In a conversation in October, I pointed out the delaying tactics of his officials to the minister and asked him to issue a decision quickly,” he said, adding: “Obviously the minister did not intervene against the blatant breach of law. That is why we are examining a supervisory complaint against those responsible.” The ministry spokesman explained that the plaintiffs were regularly informed about the status of the proceedings, most recently on October 14, 2022.
