Frankfurt International Airport officially inaugurated its new Terminal 3 on Wednesday, a project that took a decade to complete but was delivered with relatively minor delays and cost overruns. The terminal is designed to handle 19 million passengers annually, with potential expansion to 25 million.

Initial budget estimates of €2.5-3 million ballooned to around €4 million, and the opening was delayed from 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Fraport CEO Harald Rohr credited the project's relative success to a compartmentalized approach with over 300 individual construction contracts and a 'design freeze' overseen by experienced managers.

Environmental group IKUL criticized the terminal as a 'symbol of mismanagement, environmental destruction and megalomania.' Regular operations are expected to begin Thursday.

Meanwhile, Lufthansa confirmed it would cancel 20,000 flights through October after discontinuing its CityLine subsidiary, citing soaring fuel prices. Routes from Frankfurt to Bydgoszcz, Rzeszow, and Stavanger are among those axed. The airline claims the cuts will save over 40,000 tons of kerosene.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius unveiled his strategy for the Bundeswehr, aiming to build 'the strongest conventional army in Europe.' He named Russia as a primary threat, accusing Moscow of using hybrid warfare tactics including espionage, sabotage, and cyberattacks.

Source: www.dw.com