Regional airport

Regional Airport (also called " regional commercial airport " ) are called all airports by the Federal Ministry of Transport not in accordance with the Air Traffic Act ( LuftVG ) have been 27d defined as international airports.

Concept of focus

The term is, however, not legally clearly defined. The German aviation authorities shall apply the term purely to pass the certification. Thus, only the 16 airports where air traffic services are provided by the German air traffic control, are considered international airports. The remaining places with a control zone or airspace F are called regional courts.

The Association of German Airports Association ( ADV) not focuses on the approval of the legislature, but to the movement of passengers and numbers of airfields. According to the ADV are also Dortmund and Frankfurt-Hahn international airports, although this is not a valid legal basis. Accordingly, it can be a regional airport in accordance with its permission either a commercial airport or an airport. The necessary air traffic control must be performed by a certified air navigation service providers, except in an airfield with air space F, there is no operational air traffic control provider.

Subsidized structural policy

Because the planning law sovereignty is for airport projects in the provinces, provincial politicians can operate the development of regional airports as an investment for structurally weak regions, critics complain that this prestige often plays a greater role as a trans-regional infrastructure planning.

The major airports Frankfurt and Munich have joined forces against subsidized competition from regional airports in the Air Transport Initiative.

According to the plans of the European Union to regional airports that have less than five million passengers per year, the future may receive operating aid over a maximum of ten years. In addition, the public sector should, depending on the country and airport size, may participate only up to a certain limit. The European Commission intends to submit a bill in early 2014.