For months, residents of the area surrounding Frankfurt Airport have been holding regular Monday sit-ins attended by thousands to protest the amount of noise generated by flights.

The airport -- the busiest in Germany and a major hub in Europe -- had recently added a fourth runway as part of an effort to boost capacity. Protests by residents had prompted the state of Hesse, where the airport is located, to reach a compromise that granted the airport permission for only 17 night flights -- a decision that left both sides unhappy.

On April 4, however, noise-control proponents got their wish when the Federal Administrative Court, the Leipzig-based court that has the highest say on such matters, upheld a state court decision that invalidated the state's compromise decision and imposed a ban on all landings and takeoffs at the airport between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The ban will mostly affect the cargo arm of Lufthansa, Germany's largest airline. The company estimates that it will deprive it of €40 million ($52 million) in annual revenues, and CEO Christoph Franz criticized the decision as "a serious blow to Germany as a location for business."

In an interview with SPIEGEL, German Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer, a member of the conservative Christian Social Union, played down the consequences of the ban.

Ramsauer: Economic interests and noise protection are two sides of the same coin. One must also take that into account when it comes to air traffic. On May 23, my ministry will be hosting a meeting of top officials from the airlines, airports, states and industry associations. One needs to get ordinary people more closely involved in infrastructure projects without jeopardizing Germany's attractiveness as a business location. During these top-level talks, all possible models will be on the table. I'm open to many suggestions.

SPIEGEL: Frankfurt has to fight for its position as an international air hub against other cities such as Dubai. Will this decision hurt its chances of maintaining its position?

Ramsauer: No. Frankfurt needs to make optimal use of its operating hours. One can already get a lot of planes in the air in that period. Frankfurt will remain an international hub even if the night hours are lost. The decision could possibly even open doors for new collaborations among German airports.

SPIEGEL: One of the goals listed in the coalition agreement between Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union, and the business-friendly Free Democrats was to expand the number of exceptions to the ban on night flights. Given this ruling, is that even possible anymore? Do you want to amend permissible noise limits?