The decision has been made: the federal government will contribute to the air traffic control costs at Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL). The control zone with instrument flight operations is thus secured in the long term.

"The financial commitment of the federal government is an important sign for Mönchengladbach airfield, the city and the region", says Mayor and MGL supervisory board chairman Felix Heinrichs with a view to the business and innovation location MGL. "The assumption of costs also relieves the city budget, which gives us more flexibility when making important investments, including at the airport." However, there is still a long way to go before the amended Aviation Act is legally implemented. The new system of fees and federal subsidies will probably not take effect until 2023. Until then, there should be pragmatic transitional solutions.

Safety has its price: At Mönchengladbach Airport, more than 1 million euros are incurred annually for personnel and infrastructure in order to be able to offer instrument flight traffic at the correspondingly high level, "which is essential for future-oriented developments and the associated sustainable expansion of the airport", emphasizes MGL managing director Ulrich Schückhaus. Up to now, only part of the costs could be offset by individual, officially approved approach charges. 

"The decision that the air traffic control costs will now be borne by the federal government means enormous financial relief for MGL airfield and opens up important new scope for action, including for necessary investments at the airfield itself." If one calculates this income against the air traffic control costs, the MGL results in an annual saving of several hundred thousand euros. The respective air traffic control organization now collects the fees per approach and landing itself.