Expansion of Frankfurt Airport – A dialogue with the entire region

The expansion of Frankfurt Airport is contentious. The positions of supporters and critics of the expansion are fundamentally opposed. What are the conflicts relating to the expansion? What topics need to be dealt with jointly? Are there ways of ensuring the burden on the region does not increase further?

The expansion of Frankfurt Airport is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe, and one of the most controversial. In 1998, the state government of Hesse initiated a two-year mediation procedure that is the largest to date in Germany. IFOK supported the mediation procedure by coaching the three mediators. In 2000, the procedure was concluded with the “mediation package”, a basis that is still accepted by practically all the parties in the conflict. The mediation package resulted in the establishment of the Regional Dialogue Forum for Frankfurt Airport, which led the dialogue in the airport region from 2000 to 2008. On the initiative of the state government of Hesse, regional stakeholders and the general public were integrated in a structured opinion-forming process. Clarification of the facts provided a transparent basis for decision-making, and the dialogue achieved results, which were tested and improved taking account of the variety of outlooks. As the office responsible for the forum, IFOK played a crucial role in supporting and shaping this dialogue. As the office responsible, IFOK not only provided process controlling, it also promoted dialogue with the general population at all levels, through information events, podium discussions, Internet forums, newsletters, focus group events, role playing in schools, a citizens’ advice office, and information stands at the region’s market squares. The results of the negotiations on the anti-noise pact, conducted in the RDF, form the basis for future noise protection. On 12 December, 2007, Hesse’s Landtag adopted a resolution to implement the anti-noise pact. In the third phase of dialogue with the region, IFOK acted as the interim office for the Forum Flughafen und Region (FFR) [airport and region forum]. This forum is working hard to deal with the problems identified in the regional dialogue forum, above all to implement a package of measures on active noise prevention with the aim of stopping the rise of noise pollution in the region despite the airport’s expansion.