Fraport sells share in Hahn

German airport operator Fraport has sold it's 65% shareholding in Frankfurt Hahn airport to the government of Rheinland Pfalz for a symbolic €1. The decision follows the announcement by Ryanair that it would reduce it's presence at the airport if airport operator Fraport introduced a €3 passenger levy designed to bring the airport back to profitability

Rhineland-Pfalz Transport Minister Hendrik Hering commented: "The reaction by Ryanair would have had disastrous consequences for the region's labour market. This would have jeopardized about 6,000 jobs immediately. We couldn't allow this to happen and therefore decided to take over Fraport AG's shares in [the airport]. Frankfurt-Hahn Airport has enormous development and performance potential. We will use this potential to make the airport profitable."

"The planned modernisation of the terminal will make the airport more efficient," said Hering. This will involve extending the main terminal from 800sq m to 4,500sq m. It will also mean expanding the area for retail, food & beverage and other services and creating a 1,800sq m 'marketplace' for travelling consumers. The security zone will be centralised as part of this work. The move is part of a €120 million modernisation of the airport, which began last year and will run to 2011. In addition, a new division named Entwicklungsgesellschaft Hahn (Hahn Development Company) will exploit the potential of the vast land banks around the airport. "There are great opportunities for growth and development that will benefit the entire region," said Hering. During the past eight years, passenger figures at the Hunsrück region airport rose from 400,000 to nearly 4 million per year. The planned expansion will take capacity to 8 million.