German government to lift night restrictions

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new coalition will ease rules that limit night flights to help companies including Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Fraport AG stay competitive, a senior coalition lawmaker said, according to a Bloomberg News report.

Merkel’s prospective alliance of her Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats will curtail powers that Germany’s 16 states have to restrict night flights, Hans-Peter Friedrich, the deputy leader in parliament of Merkel’s bloc, said.

“Restrictions have to be adjusted or hubs like Frankfurt and freight carriers like Lufthansa will suffer at the expense of competitors like Dubai,” Friedrich said in an interview last week. “We need to make changes that balance commercial concerns with noise and environment considerations - we don’t want to choke mobility.”