Official opening of the new South Runway at Leipzig/Halle Airport

After a construction period of just two years, Leipzig/Halle Airport’s 3,600 metre South Runway is being officially opened today in the presence of about 600 representatives of politics, industry and the media. The Central German airport now has a parallel runway system suitable for intercontinental traffic

With the opening of the South Runway, Leipzig/Halle Airport will have two parallel 3,600 metre runways that can service all aircraft types including the Airbus A380 with no payload or range restrictions. The two runways have a separation distance of 2,120 metres, enabling them to be used independently. Like the North Runway, the South Runway has a Category IIIb All-Weather Landing System for both approach directions.
Adjoining the South Runway is a 53 hectare apron for cargo aircraft, which was also part of the expansion project and which will be used by Deutsche Post World Net express subsidiary DHL from this autumn.

The airport shareholders have invested approximately EUR 290 million in the new South Runway, including taxiways.

Another EUR 60 million has been spent on compliance, including extensive noise and environmental protection measures and land acquisition

Built in record time

Leipzig/Halle Airport applied for planning permission for the construction of the new South Runway from the Leipzig Regional Administrative Authority on 3 November 2003. Planning consent was granted just one year later, on 4 November 2004, and was confirmed as immediately enforceable by the 4th Senate of the Federal Administrative Court on 20 May 2005. The Federal Administrative Court thus dismissed an application for interim relief and paved the way for the immediate expansion of the airport.
The symbolic first sod marking the start of construction of the South Runway was turned on 31 August 2005.