Ten lawsuits have been filed against the planned expansion work at Leipzig/Halle Airport. The deadline for substantiating the lawsuits ends in mid-February 2025. It is expected that the proceedings will take some time. The plaintiffs, including environmental protection associations as well as businesses and private individuals, are opposed to the expansion of the airport, which is primarily intended to increase air freight capacity.
The expansion of the airport was already approved by the State Directorate of Saxony in September 2024. The planned expansion affects an area of 39 hectares on the apron in order to increase the handling capacity for cargo aircraft. The shipping company DHL Express in particular is planning to expand its logistics hub at the airport. With an investment of around 500 million euros, Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG wants to strengthen the location in the long term. Leipzig/Halle Airport is already the second largest cargo airport in Germany and the fifth largest air cargo hub in Europe. In 2023 and 2024, however, air cargo volumes stagnated at around 1,4 million tons.
The proceedings are expected to last several months. After the reasons for the lawsuits have been stated, the State Directorate of Saxony will be given the opportunity to comment before a further exchange of arguments takes place. A final verdict on the lawsuits is therefore not yet foreseeable.
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