Off the wire
• Urgent: Syrian army officially denies chemical attack in Idlib province  • New 50 euro banknote starts circulating  • Paris CAC 40 index gains 0.30 pct on Tuesday  • Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, April 4  • 1st LD: Cypriot community leaders to resume reunification negotiations on April 11  • U.S. stocks waver narrowly amid economic data  • India rejects U.S. offer of mediation with Pakistan  • Lao PM expresses condolences on Russia subway explosion  • Urgent: Cypriot community leaders to resume reunification negotiations on April 11  • Turkey vows to stand with Russia against terror attack  
You are here: 　 Home

German petition to save Berlin airport meets referendum threshold

Xinhua, April 4, 2017 Adjust font size:

A petition by Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) has gathered enough signatures to trigger a referendum on the future of Berlin's Tegel Airport, it was reported Tuesday.

The petition received 204,263 signatures, 30,012 more than what is required for a Berlin-state referendum.

A decision was taken to close Tegel Airport in 1996, when a permission to build the new airport Berlin Brandenburg was granted.

However, the new airport, which was due to open in 2012, is still unopened following numerous delays and cost overruns. It is thought the airport may open in 2018.

The "Berlin needs Tegel" petition argued that the old airport will be needed in addition to the new one. Currently, Tegel Airport handles 21 million passengers per year, and Berlin's other airport Schoenefeld handles 12 million.

FDP pointed to forecasts that suggest passenger numbers will rise to 36.5 million in 2017, and to 60 million in 2030.

The German Green Party, part of the coalition governing Berlin, told Xinhua, "We respect the collected signatures and the referendum and take this vote very seriously. However, we maintain Tegel must finally be rid of air traffic. The airport brings advantages to a few at the expense of the whole city."

The FDP did not immediately respond to request for comment.

German parliament's scientific service wrote a report in 2014 saying that the two airports were not mutually exclusive but concerns existed about the level of pollution and noise emissions if both airports were allowed to operate simultaneously. Endit