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Start of construction on pier A-Plus at Frankfurt Airport

Direct News Source

01-Sep-2009 Laying of foundation stone for exclusive Lufthansa terminal area with State Premier Roland Koch

Construction is about to begin on one of the biggest future-oriented projects at Frankfurt Airport - the foundation stone for the new pier A-Plus was laid today by the State Premier of Hesse, Roland Koch, the Chairman of the Executive Board Fraport AG, Dr. Stefan Schulte, Chairman of the Executive Board Fraport AG and Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber at a ceremony signalling the start of construction and attended by about 250 invited guests. The new pier is scheduled to be completed in 2012 at a cost of close to half a billion euros. Spread over an area of more than 185,000 square metres, it will furnish additional capacity for around six million passengers yearly and be used exclusively by Lufthansa.

Featuring a progressive design, and equipped with state-of-the-art airport and terminal infrastructure, pier A-Plus will create an ambience allowing passengers to relax in comfortable surroundings prior to boarding their flight. Along with a variety of retail outlets and restaurants in the expansive boarding area, it includes a total of six new Lufthansa lounges with around 7,500 square metres of floor space. Aside from two Senator and two Business Lounges, a new First-Class lounge will be located there. The anti-glare elements fronting the intelligent and modern façade will reduce CO2 emissions by 28 per cent compared with similar-type buildings.

On completion the 790 metre-long pier will provide parking positions at the terminal for seven wide-body aircraft. Four of them designed for handling the future Lufthansa flagship, the Airbus A380. Alternatively, eleven short-haul aircraft can be handled in parallel in the new terminal area.

At the official foundation-stone laying ceremony, State Premier Roland Koch underlined the significance of Frankfurt Airport. "Each step equipping the airport for the future is important. I am delighted to be here at the laying of the foundation stone for the new pier A-Plus, which will soon be open to handle the world's biggest passenger aircraft. This step exemplifies the innovation and competitiveness of Lufthansa and of Frankfurt Airport in its entirety. It is in the interest of the Rhine-Main region and of paramount importance in view of its creation of additional employment"

Dr. Stefan Schulte, Chairman of the Executive Board Fraport AG, underscored the need for capacity expansion at Frankfurt Airport: "With the expansion of the airport as well as extensive modernization and enlargement of existing facilities, we are increasing the competitiveness of Frankfurt Airport as one of the world's most efficient air traffic hubs. Hub airports are evolving into central development junctions in the network of the globalised economy: It is here where passenger flows, the transport chains of goods and the exchange of know-how converge"

Lufthansa Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber dwelt on the customer benefits of the new terminal area. "Pier A-Plus will be a significant improvement for our passengers. We will markedly improve comfort, flexibility and handling speed in A-Plus. This investment in first-class products is an investment in the long-term success of Lufthansa at the Frankfurt base" said Mayrhuber.