A chemical company is taking legal action to stop planes taking off from Frankfurt from flying over one of its plants, in a move that could influence airport owner Fraport's plans to expand the hub.
Ticona - part of chemical group Celanese - is suing Germany and the German air transport authority, which determines flight paths, claiming that routing of flights over its factory near Frankfurt breaks European safety rules.
The company wants planes to climb in a different direction that avoids the thermoplastics factory after takeoff to reduce the risk of a plane crashing into the plant, Celanese vice president for special projects, Ralf Christner, told Reuters.
The outcome of the case could have an impact on Fraport's plan to build a new north-west runway at Frankfurt airport, which would be near the chemical plant and would significantly increase the number of flights passing over it.
Ticona is one of 127,000 objectors to the proposal, details of which will be discussed in public from September 12.