Frankfurt (Germany) (AFP) – Frankfurt airport opened a new terminal on Wednesday, just a few years late and a billion euros over budget, with officials hailing a success in a country notorious for troubled infrastructure projects. Terminal 3 at Germany’s biggest airport, which has an 18-metre (60-foot) high ceiling and vast glass facade, is designed to handle around an additional 20 million passengers a year. The privately financed project took around 10 years to complete and was supposed to open in 2022 but was delayed due to problems linked to the Covid pandemic. It cost four billion euros ($4.7 billion) to build, higher than an original estimated cost of 2.5 to three billion euros. Still, those attending the terminal’s inauguration ceremony simply seemed relieved it had been finished at all.
“The clear message from Terminal 3 is ‘yes, we can carry out major projects in Germany,'” said Stefan Schulte, CEO of airport operator Fraport, speaking from the site’s duty-free area. In total, 57 airlines will move into the terminal, with German carrier Condor set to be the main user of the site. It is a contrast to the chaotic construction of Berlin’s international airport — a catalogue of problems meant it took 14 years to build the site, which finally opened in 2020. Other infrastructure projects have also fared poorly, with critics complaining of onerous permit procedures and strict rules around all aspects of construction. A mammoth new rail hub, “Stuttgart 21”, was supposed to open in 2019 but has been indefinitely delayed, leaving a vast area in the centre of the southwestern city looking like a building site.
Not everyone is happy with the addition of a new terminal in Frankfurt, however. The timing has raised eyebrows, with global aviation in crisis due to the Middle East war, while critics also note passenger numbers at the airport have fallen due to competition from other hubs. Green groups have been angered, with the Initiative for Climate Protection, the Environment and Against Noise in Air Transport slamming the new terminal. It will lead to greater “destruction of the environment, as well as the health and quality of life of airport residents through aircraft noise, (carbon dioxide) and pollutants,” said the group.
© 2024 AFP
