Political leaders in the state capital were already aware in 2000 that the expansion of Frankfurt Airport would lead to a huge increase in aircraft noise in the Mainz area. Therefore, all legal and political steps were taken at that time to counteract this scenario and prevent it as far as possible. Through negotiations with political leaders, participation in dialogue forums, and as a member of the board of the Aircraft Noise Commission, the city of Mainz was the only municipality in Rhineland-Palatinate to take a stand against increasing aircraft noise more than 20 years ago and, despite the often tight budgetary situation, has spent considerable financial resources in the fight against aircraft noise.

The city of Mainz prepared and filed the following lawsuits:

• 2001 First lawsuit by the city of Mainz against aircraft noise caused by Frankfurt Airport over the Mainz city area
  Opposition via a judicial review procedure against the amendment of the Air Traffic Ordinance to relax the night flight ban (2010 / proceedings were discontinued)
• 2004: Flight route lawsuit against the reorganization of the flight route system in 2001. (Lawsuit was dismissed on the grounds that the noise in Mainz was not unreasonable and that the authorities had not committed any procedural errors in determining the flight routes.)
• 2009: Lawsuit against the planning approval decision of December 18, 2007, on the expansion of Frankfurt Main Airport. (The lawsuit was decided by the Hessian Administrative Court in 2017

One partial success of the legal disputes was the enforcement of the night flight ban from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. In the meantime, all lawsuits against the planning approval decision have been decided and all legal remedies have been exhausted. This means that there are no further possibilities for legal action. 

In addition, the state capital has been involved over the years in preparing time-consuming and costly statements as part of the following administrative procedures:

• Regional planning procedure for airport expansion (2002)
• Planning approval for the A380 shipyard (2004)
• Amendment process for the Aircraft Noise Protection Act (2005)
  Judicial review proceedings against the amendment to the Hessian State Development Plan (LEP) (lawsuit was rejected by the Hessian Administrative Court in 2010)
• Drafting procedure for the Hesse Noise Action Plan, Frankfurt Airport sub-plan (2012 and 2021)

Through the municipal alliance in the "Future Rhine-Main (ZRM)" initiative, numerous cities and municipalities affected by the expansion contributed highly qualified expert opinions to the proceedings. For this reason, Fraport and the state of Hesse had to repeatedly re-examine the expansion, which ultimately led to a delay in the realization of the new runway by several years.

In coordination with ZRM, Mainz also repeatedly addressed controversial issues surrounding the expansion project through extensive press and public relations work. These ranged from the risk of bird strikes and the dangers posed by the initially planned overflight of the Ticona chemical plant to numerous other questionable practices in connection with the planned expansion project.

Poster campaigns and press conferences were used to repeatedly draw attention to issues that often only came to light as a result of these public relations efforts. Examples include the proven health risks posed by aircraft noise and the demand for transparent and scientifically supported aircraft noise monitoring in the region. The goal of preventing the construction of the runway as a whole could not be achieved. The peak phase of the legal disputes surrounding
the airport expansion has now come to an end. However, the city council resolution passed unanimously in 2000, according to which all necessary measures must be taken to combat the increasing noise pollution in the Mainz city area caused by aircraft noise, remains in force. This means that changes at the airport and in the air traffic control system will continue to be monitored critically and vigilantly.

Furthermore, the activities of the city of Mainz are aimed at ensuring that the problem of aircraft noise is also recognized at the federal level and that the legal protection of citizens against pollution, including ultra-fine dust emissions from air traffic, is significantly improved. The city of Mainz has been working closely with citizens' initiatives on these issues for years.

According to the calculation methods of the currently valid case law, Mainz itself lies outside the zone in which claims for passive noise protection against the airport operator can be made. According to the "Law on Protection against Aircraft Noise," aircraft noise over Mainz is "reasonable." According to this calculation formula, citizens therefore have no legal recourse to assert a claim against Fraport, the source of the noise. Janina
Steinkrüger, Mainz's head of environmental affairs, says: "The current legal situation protects the aviation industry, but not the citizens. In my view, it is clear that the current federal legal requirements do not provide sufficient protection for the population against aircraft noise. There are no legal limits at all on the problem of ultrafine dust caused by air traffic. There is still a long way to go before federal regulations are changed in the interests of those affected, and we can only achieve this together with our local allies and citizens. We are all affected by increasing noise pollution and climate change. The city of Mainz will continue to use all available means to defend itself against the ever-increasing aircraft noise and environmental impact with all politically and legally possible means."

From the perspective of the city of Mainz, the massive imbalance between economic interests on the one hand and the population's right to protection and climate protection on the other must be restored to a tolerable balance that focuses on people and protects health and the environment. Until this goal is achieved, the city of Mainz will continue its fight against aircraft noise.

State capital Mainz, Parks and Environment Department, 2023