Herman De Wulf/Brussels
Express parcel carriers, which fly the bulk of their operations at night, are facing growing opposition in Europe on environmental grounds.
The latest development is the rejection by a Bavarian court of an appeal by DHL International against a ban on night operations at Nuremberg Airport, which took effect on 1 April and will, says DHL, result in 70 job losses at the airport. At the end of March some 5,000 people demonstrated at Liege Airport in Belgium against night operations recently inaugurated by TNT, after they were transferred from Cologne, where its night operations were banned.
Meanwhile, a Brussels association called PLANE (Platform for Logistics and Aviation Networks in Europe) has been set up to defend the interests of express parcels airlines, stressing the importance of "just in time" delivery in support of the economy.
Boeing 727s have been the focus of environmental protests in Europe
The association's interim chairman, Eric Merkel-Sobotta, says: "There is an ever increasing tendency to criticise the crucial aviation sectors of delivery networks, especially night operations. If the current anti-aviation trend continues, business and consumers will be put at a tangible disadvantage and Europe's already threatened competitive situation will be further endangered. Constructive dialogue must take place now."
Speaking at the association's launch at Liege Airport recently, Sobotta warned that express carriers should prepare now for stricter so-called "Chapter 4" noise legislation when investing in aircraft. Opposition against night operations at Liege is aimed primarily at TNT's Boeing 727s, Cargo Air Lines' Boeing 747 and MK Icelandic Aviation's McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62 freighter.
DHL has been forced to introduce Airbus A300B4 freighters after noise complaints from residents near Brussels Airport about their Stage 3 hushkitted 727s.
The airline has been critical of local airport authorities in Europe, saying that they are "-looking to apply uncoordinated and locally devised noise related restrictions, all of which diverge from International Civil Aviation Organisation standards".
Source: Flight International
