11.08.2006
Hearing period for potential expansion of Roskilde Airport begins

Investigations of the potential impact on the neighbouring communities and the environment of an expansion of the runway and traffic at Roskilde Airport have been completed, and the central documents were recently submitted for a public hearing. Even if the effects of expansion were deemed to be within the accepted environmental limits, the airport will not automatically be expanded. The necessary business potential must also be in place.

How many people in the neighbouring communities would be affected by aircraft noise if traffic at Roskilde Airport is increased to include scheduled and charter flights? How much additional traffic would there be on the roads around the airport? And what would be the impact on nature.   Those are some of the questions citizens can find answers to in two comprehensive documents recently submitted for a public hearing regarding a potential expansion of Roskilde Airport. Copenhagen Airport wants, among other things, to have the option to extend the single runway at Roskilde to 2,100 metres and to increase the number of operations (take-offs and

landings) to 200,000 per year, of which 25,000 would be scheduled, charter and cargo flights. By comparison, the airport had just over 69,000 operations last year, all by light aircraft.

The investigations have lasted three years

The potential expansion requires a so-called amendment to the regional plan with an EIA (environmental impact assessment) as well as and environmental approval, and after three years of thorough investigations, the proposals on these issues from the Greater Copenhagen Council (HUR) and the County of Roskilde have now been completed.

Both proposals will be in public hearing for eight weeks, and a public meeting on the issue will be held on Thursday, 14 September at 7 pm, at the Roskilde Congress Centre, Møllehusvej 15, Roskilde. The deadline for submitting objections and comments to the material to the HUR is 26 September 2006, after which the HUR and the County of Roskilde will jointly evaluate whether any amendments should be made to the proposals before they can be finally adopted.

If the proposals are adopted, it does not necessarily mean that Roskilde Airport will be expanded, only that the opportunity exists if airline demand is sufficient and a favourable business plan can be drawn up for an expansion of the airport.