Court Ruling Poses Problems for Airbus Jumbo

Airplane manufacturer Airbus has hit some slight turbulence with its new mega jumbo jet in Germany. A Hamburg administrative court issued a temporary injunction this week against the European consortium's plan to extend the runway at its plant in Hamburg's Finkenwerder district by 600 meters (1,968 feet) in order to accommodate the cargo version of its new A380 jumbo jet. The court said that an earlier plan by the company to extend the runway by 589 meters would be sufficient for the aircraft to take off and land. However, Airbus said the extra length would be required to demonstrate the plane to customers, who demand to see the aircraft fly when it is two-thirds filled. The new plan, the court said, would require property to be expropriated from 20 different residents. Most of the construction of the A380 is expected to happen at Airbus plants in Toulouse, France, and at Hamburg-Finkenwerder. A higher administrative court is expected to rule on the issue soon. With the first plane scheduled for delivery in 2006, Airbus is under tight deadline pressure to complete the A380, which is intended to compete with Boeing's 747.