Germany's parliamentary state secretary for transport, Norbert Lammert, has called for a transfer of short-haul air traffic on to the rail network, encouraging airports to cultivate a role linking various transport modes.
Speaking at the recent opening of the Inter Airport '97 show at Frankfurt/Rhein-Main Airport, Lammert said: "In our view, it is particularly important to create efficient rail connections at hub airports. "A high-speed rail connection is now being built between Frankfurt and Cologne/Bonn airports, which is expected to carry up to 30,000 passengers daily.
Intermodality is one of the points raised in the transport ministry's "Concept for Air Transport and the Environment", which won approval from the German cabinet on 17 September. According to the transport ministry, the goal of the Government's strategy is to reduce engine noise and emissions, to transfer traffic to less-polluting and more energy-efficient transport means and to create a fully integrated transport system.
The Government will campaign for the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the European Union to tighten environmental minima for aircraft engines. It is also considering introducing emissions charges on top of airport landing fees - such as those already introduced at Zurich in Switzerland - to encourage the use of cleaner engines.
Lammert also gives his backing to a plan announced by Frankfurt Airport to create an alliance of airports in Germany.
"The Government is ready to take a role as a moderator [in this plan]," says Lammert, adding that the participants' common goal should be to secure employment and economic strength, as well as making German airports more competitive.
Source: Flight International
