Dresden Klotzsche Airport
Encyclopedia
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
of Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It is located in Klotzsche, a district of Dresden 9 km (5.6 mi) north of the city centre. The airport rebranded itself as "Dresden International" in September 2008.
In 2008, 1,860,364 passengers passed through the airport, an increase of 0.3% over the previous year and a record for the airport. In the same year, there were 36,968 takeoff
Takeoff
Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle goes from the ground to flying in the air.For horizontal takeoff aircraft this usually involves starting with a transition from moving along the ground on a runway. For balloons, helicopters and some specialized fixed-wing aircraft , no...
s and landing
Landing
thumb|A [[Mute Swan]] alighting. Note the ruffled feathers on top of the wings indicate that the swan is flying at the [[Stall |stall]]ing speed...
s, an increase of 2.3% over the previous year.
Dresden Airport is home to EADS EFW
EADS EFW
EADS EFW is a subsidiary and business unit of EADS in Dresden. It is located at the Dresden Airport and became the centre of freighter aircraft conversion in the EADS group.- History :...
, a business unit of EADS
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
. Lufthansa Airport Services Dresden GmbH (LASD), a subsidiary of Lufthansa
Lufthansa
Deutsche Lufthansa AG is the flag carrier of Germany and the largest airline in Europe in terms of overall passengers carried. The name of the company is derived from Luft , and Hansa .The airline is the world's fourth-largest airline in terms of overall passengers carried, operating...
, and AHS (Aviation Handling Services) provide passenger services at the airport. The general aviation services are offered by the airport itself.
History
The airport was opened to commercial traffic on 11 July 1935.Though planned as a commercial airport, its importance to the military increased dramatically during the following years in the Third Reich. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was exclusively used for military purposes. An airlift
Airlift
Airlift is the act of transporting people or cargo from point to point using aircraft.Airlift may also refer to:*Airlift , a suction device for moving sand and silt underwater-See also:...
between the airport and Breslau was established to support german troops during the Siege of Breslau in spring of 1945.
Attempts to destroy buildings and equipment before the Allied troops could occupy Dresden failed due to the resistance of civil airport employees.
During the following years, the airport was used as an education centre for the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
army. It was reopened for commercial traffic on 16 June 1957. In 1959 international air traffic resumed, primarily to countries of the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
.
Between 1955 and 1961, the East German government decided to develop its own aviation industry centred on Dresden. Although this development ultimately failed, it increased the importance of Klotzsche Airport considerably, and has shaped the design and atmosphere of the airport right up until today.
After German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, the airport was expanded and flights to western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an capitals were added. Traffic increased sevenfold during the first half of the 1990s and a second terminal was opened in 1995.
In 2001 the current terminal was added. This was rebuilt from a hangar formerly used as an assembly hall by the aircraft industry.
Public transport
Dresden Airport railway station is situated in the basement of the terminal building. It is served by trains on line S2 of the Dresden S-BahnDresden S-Bahn
The Dresden S-Bahn provides commuter train services in Dresden and the surrounding area. It was established in 1973 and comprises three lines...
, which provide a half-hourly link to Dresden-Neustadt
Dresden-Neustadt railway station
Dresden-Neustadt station is the second largest railway station in Dresden, as well as one of the largest stations in Saxony.-Construction:...
and Dresden Hauptbahnhof
Dresden Hauptbahnhof
is one of two main inter-city transit hubs in the German city of Dresden. Designed by Ernst Giese and Paul Weidner, it was built between 1892 and 1897 at the southern border of the inner city and was important in the growth and development of the city....
stations in the centre of Dresden, with journey times of 13 and 23 minutes respectively. On weekdays the trains continue to the towns of Heidenau
Heidenau
Heidenau is a town in the Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. During World War II, a subcamp of Flossenbürg concentration camp was located here. The town is situated on the left bank of the Elbe, 13 km southeast of Dresden .-References:...
and Pirna
Pirna
Pirna is a town in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, capital of the administrative district Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge. The town's population is over 40,000. Pirna is located near Dresden and is an important district town as well as a Große Kreisstadt...
.
Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB) bus route 77 provides a link from the airport to DVB tram route 7, which provides an alternative route to central Dresden. DVB bus route 97 links the airport to the district of Hellerau
Hellerau
Hellerau is a quarter in the City of Dresden, Germany. It was the first garden city in Germany.Based on the ideas of Ebenezer Howard, businessman Karl Schmidt-Hellerau founded Hellerau near Dresden in 1909. The idea was to create an organic, planned community...
. Regional bus route 425 connects the airport with the towns of Boxdorf and Radebeul
Radebeul
Radebeul is a town in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well-known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May and a narrow gauge railway connecting Radebeul with the castle of Moritzburg and the town of Radeburg...
.
The airport is within the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe
Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe
The Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe is a transport association run by public transport providers in the Upper Elbe area of the German state of Saxony...
's Dresden tariff zone, as is central Dresden, and a single ticket (currently priced at €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
2.00) is valid on the S-Bahn, trams and buses within that zone. Other tariff zones cover the surrounding towns as far as Meissen
Meissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
and the Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
border. Tickets can be obtained at ticket vending machines in the station, at the bus stop, or at the airport information desk on the Arrivals level of the terminal.
Road transport
Dresden Airport is situated some 9 km (5.6 mi) north of the centre of Dresden. The direct journey, on city streets, takes about 20 minutes. The current taxi fare varies from €16 to €18.The airport is served by an adjacent junction on the A4 Autobahn, which by-passes central Dresden on its route from Aachen
Aachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
, on the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
border, to Görlitz
Görlitz
Görlitz is a town in Germany. It is the easternmost town in the country, located on the Lusatian Neisse River in the Bundesland of Saxony. It is opposite the Polish town of Zgorzelec, which was a part of Görlitz until 1945. Historically, Görlitz was in the region of Upper Lusatia...
, on the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
border. Junctions in the Dresden area connect the A4 to the A13, to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, and the A17
Bundesautobahn 17
is an autobahn in Saxony, south-eastern Germany. It links Dresden to the Czech border where the D8 continues to Prague. The road is a fairly new contribution to the German autobahn-system, with its first stretch opened in 2001 and the last in 2006.- Location :...
, to the Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
border and Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
.
The airport features a multi-storey car park
Multi-storey car park
A multi-storey car-park is a building designed specifically to be for car parking and where there are a number of floors or levels on which parking takes place...
with approximately 1,500 spaces, connected to the terminal building by a glass-covered pedestrian bridge. Additionally, there are three long-stay car parks, and a short-stay car park right next to the terminal access.