Frankfurt Airport expansion angers residents

http://www.spiegel.de/international/german...,524279,00.html

Personally, I think some night flights might be acceptable but the (EDIT) additional runway is wrong.
Would be better to increase train capacity, and rid of short haul flights like Frankfurt-Düsseldorf

There already are three runways. Two parallel RWYs basically oriented East-West and one used just for take-offs in a Southerly direction.

You're absolutely right, I meant the 4th runway. Sorry.

Of course it's ridiculous that there are so many short-haul flights that could be undertaken by train just as quickly. The EU needs to tax these flights out of the sky. The problem is that the low prices that airlines are able to charge thanks to their large taxpayer subsidies means that few people oppose airport expansion, as we're seeing at Munich Airport, which wants to (i.e. will) build a third runway. Local residents complain about the extra noise, but there's little debate about the sustainability of unquestioned airport expansion throughout Europe.