HAMBURG, Germany, Dec 6 (AFP) - Aircraft maker Airbus said Monday that significant progress had been made in resolving a legal battle over the planned extension of a test runway for its super-jumbo A380, clearing the way for the construction of a delivery centre for the new jets in the north German port.
The city-state authorities of Hamburg had succeeded in acquiring one of three key pieces of land needed for the extension of the runway and that, in turn, meant that Airbus would go ahead and build the delivery centre, the aircraft maker said in a statement.
"There's nothing standing in the way now of the runway extension project," Airbus said.
Airbus wants to extend its runway in Hamburg by 589 metre (644 yards) to a total 3.2 kilometres. And it made the construction of a delivery centre, where the new super-jumbo jets would be prepared for final delivery to customers, conditional on the runway being extended.
But the plans ran into fierce opposition by environmentalists and residents, and a local church had been refusing to sell land needed for the extension of the runway.
Without the new facilities and the extended runway, the Hamburg plant could potentially lose the A380 contract, thereby threatening 2,500-4,000 jobs.
As a result, the city-state's senate stepped in and mayor Ole von Beust mulled legal changes that would make it possible to expropriate the land.
Of the three landowners still resisting the plans, one had decided to sell.
And his decision "will hopefully have a positive influence on the two remaining landowners," Airbus said.
10 days ago, Airbus said it would transfer for a "limited period" delivery of its new super-jumbo A380 from Hamburg to Toulouse until it could resolve the legal battle.
12/06/2004 14:19 GMT - AFP