VZCZCXRO4851
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF
DE RUEHLZ #0013/01 1871021
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061021Z JUL 07
FM AMCONSUL LEIPZIG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0063
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 0001
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFE RAMSTEIN AB GE
RHMFIUU/CDRUSAREUR HEIDELBERG GE
REUHRL/USDAO BERLIN GE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHLZ/AMCONSUL LEIPZIG 0067

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LEIPZIG 000013 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: MARR EAIR MOPS PREL NATO GM
SUBJECT: FLIGHTS TRANSPORTING U.S. TROOPS RECEIVE EXEMPTION FROM 
NIGHT-TIME RESTRICTIONS AT LEIPZIG/HALLE AIRPORT 
 
REF: 06 LEIPZIG 0025 
 
LEIPZIG 00000013  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (U) Summary.  On June 29, 2007, a Saxony state agency for 
regional infrastructure issued an amendment to the operating 
regulations for Leipzig/Halle airport, one effect of which will 
be that commercial charter flights transporting U.S. military 
personnel between CONUS and Middle East/Central Asia may depend 
on round-the-clock availability for refueling and other 
operations as needed.  Of broader economic interest, the 
amendment confirms that cargo flights touching down to load or 
unload will be permitted without restriction, as will flights 
for either cargo or passengers requested by police or military 
authorities.  24/7 operations are henceforth secure for charter 
companies transporting U.S. troops (currently World, North 
American, and Omni Airways) as well as for the Antonov AN-124 
transports stationed by the Russia-owned "Ruslan Salis GmbH" at 
Leipzig/Halle for strategic airlift missions under the NATO 
SALIS (Strategic Airlift Interim Solution) program.  The 
decision is also good news for the airport, which on July 5 
ceremonially opened a second runway to accommodate booming 
business from DHL and other freight carriers.   End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) During a press conference on June 29, 2007, Walter 
Christian Steinbach, the President of the Regierungspraesidium 
Leipzig (or "Leipzig Regional Board" - the Saxony state agency 
that oversees infrastructure and municipal budgets in the NE 
region of Saxony) announced he had issued an amendment to the 
agency's 2004 regulation for airport operations.  The agency 
would impose no restrictions on hours of operation for cargo 
flights involving unloading or loading at Leipzig/Halle airport. 
 In addition, the amendment removes restrictions on cargo and 
passenger flights requested by the police or the military. 
(Note: All commercial and non-military charter flights and 
transiting cargo flights are still prohibited from operations 
during the night hours). 
 
¶3.  (U) A November 2006 decision by Germany's Federal 
Administrative Court had required amendment of the regulation in 
order to limit night operations, as several property owners in 
the area had demanded in lawsuits.  Officials at Leipzig/Halle 
airport (in private) and political leaders up to Saxony 
Minister-President Milbradt (in public) express confidence the 
amended regulation will withstand any further challenge. 
 
¶4.  (U) Mark Stelse, customer relations manager of the airport, 
confirmed to us again July 5 that the exemption from 
prohibitions on night operations would apply to the transit 
flights of World Airways, North American, and Omni Airlines, 
which use Leipzig/Halle airport as a refueling point for their 
aircraft transporting U.S. troops to and from the Middle East 
and Central Asia.  This exemption clause covers also the six 
Antonov AN-124 transport planes owned by the Russian firm 
"Ruslan Salis," which are stationed (generally two at any given 
time) at the airport for strategic airlift missions under the 
NATO SALIS (Strategic Airlift Interim Solution) program, in 
which 15 NATO states plus Finland participate. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Airport management and the state and city governments 
that own the airport favored the fewest possible restrictions on 
operating times.  In this policy they were motivated by a desire 
to maintain operational flexibility for the airport's 
competitiveness and its role as a job creation motor.  Airport 
management also advocated 24/7 operations for the American 
charter companies (under contract to DoD Air Mobility Command) 
as a matter of business development.  Political challenges to 
the "militarization" of the airport or "indirect support to U.S. 
military action in Iraq" came over the past six months from Left 
Party delegates in the Saxony-Anhalt state parliament and 
Leipzig City Council, but evaporated.  We understand that in 
spring 2007 the Regional Board directed a request to the Saxony 
state government that it inquire of the German Foreign Office as 
to whether the flights were consistent with German national 
policy.  In the end, however, the regional authority made no 
reference to German Federal Government views while announcing 
the new operating guidelines. 
 
¶6.  (U) Comment: While complaints against noise from the airport 
are likely to continue, the Federal Administrative Court 
decision, as carried out by the Regierungspraesidium, settles 
any legal questions.  The charter companies have at 
Leipzig/Halle the operational flexibility they need for flights 
related to the U.S. military.  The airport's economic role for 
the region was illustrated in the July 5, 2007 opening of a 
second runway to accommodate an increasing number of flights 
operated by express delivery company DHL, a subsidiary of German 
 
LEIPZIG 00000013  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Post.  (Note: If DHL meets the full operations tempo it plans by 
June 2008 for Leipzig as its European hub, the company will 
nightly land, unload, reload, and dispatch up to 52 aircraft 
here.  Lufthansa Cargo also recently announced plans to increase 
Leipzig operations. End note.)  Federal Minister of 
Transportation Wolfgang Tiefensee and the Ministers-President of 
Saxony-Anhalt and of Saxony each emphasized in their remarks 
during the runway opening ceremony the economic importance of 
the airport as a creator of jobs. 
SCHELAND