Frankfurt - Work to expand Frankfurt international airport in Germany began Tuesday after years of delay and opposition from environmentalists concerned at noise, pollution and the carbon footprint from increased air travel.

The move came two days after Roland Koch, the centre-right premier of the state of Hesse, won a new term in power, with voters handing a majority to his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its smaller ally, the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP).

Koch's political opponents had said they would stop the expansion, which has been held up by controversy for more than a decade. For the past year, Koch's hands were tied because he was heading a minority government.

Protesters jeered as trees began to be cleared from the Kelsterbach Woods where the airport expansion is to be located, and demanded that the state government wait till verdicts in pending lawsuits had been made. The state land has already been handed over to the airport operating company, Fraport.

The protesters have been camping at the site for months, hoping to obstruct the work.

The third runway is needed to cope with increasing traffic at Germany's biggest airport, where at busy times, planes must sometimes wait up to an hour for takeoff or landing opportunity.

Towns in the area have complained that the constant takeoffs and landings make the district an unpleasant place to live. Environmentalists argue that air travel produces disproportionate amounts of climate-damaging carbon-dioxide emissions.

Last week, Britain began moves to build a third runway at Heathrow Airport in London, the biggest British airport. Environmentalists are also opposing that project on similar grounds. (dpa)