Lübeck Airport
Encyclopedia
Lübeck Blankensee Airport , marketed by some airlines as Hamburg Lübeck Airport, is an airport
in Germany
located 8 km (5 mi) south of Lübeck
city centre and 54 km (33.6 mi) northeast of Hamburg
. The airport serves the Hamburg Metropolitan Area and is second after Hamburg Airport.
The shareholder is the City of Lübeck. Infratil
, an infrastructure investment company from New Zealand
held a 90% shareholding from November 2005 until the end of October 2009 when it sold its shares back to the City of Lübeck.
started after the completion. With the end of First World War the airbase was shut down. In 1933, it re-opened and the airbase was set up again with heavy extension. During the Berlin Blockade
the Royal Air Force
flew with DC-3 Dakota coal to Berlin and refugees to West Germany. After the re-unification of Germany
, the airport started to grow heavily. More and more airlines started flying from Lübeck-Blankensee. In 1997, the arrival terminal was re-constructed and extended. Ryanair
started operations in 2000 with first flight to London-Stansted and extended its route system over the years until 2009. Wizz Air
started operations in 2006 with flights to Gdańsk and later other eastern European destinations. Discussions about Ryanair opening a base at the airport have been held since 2009 without results. In 2010, both the financial crisis and the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull
led to a general decrease in passenger numbers and destinations.
Infratil
bought 90% of the airport in November 2005, but sold its shares back to the City of Lübeck at the end of October 2009. The new principal operator Flughafen Lübeck GmbH is searching for an investor since. The city of Lübeck has announced to cut public funds at the end of 2012 if no private investor is found until then.
After interventions by local environmental protection societies, plans had to be revised in 2008 and are awaiting official approval since.
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...
in 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...
located 8 km (5 mi) south of Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
city centre and 54 km (33.6 mi) northeast of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. The airport serves the Hamburg Metropolitan Area and is second after Hamburg Airport.
The shareholder is the City of Lübeck. Infratil
Infratil
Infratil Limited is a New Zealand-based infrastructure investment company. It owns several airports, electricity generators and retailers, and a public transport business, with operations in New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Infratil was founded by Lloyd Morrison, a Wellington-based merchant...
, an infrastructure investment company from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
held a 90% shareholding from November 2005 until the end of October 2009 when it sold its shares back to the City of Lübeck.
Airlines and destinations
History
In 1916, the construction of the airport began, and was completed in 1917. The operations of Lübeck AirbaseAirbase
An airbase is a military airfield that provides basing and support of military aircraft....
started after the completion. With the end of First World War the airbase was shut down. In 1933, it re-opened and the airbase was set up again with heavy extension. During the Berlin Blockade
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
flew with DC-3 Dakota coal to Berlin and refugees to West Germany. After the re-unification of Germany
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 started to grow heavily. More and more airlines started flying from Lübeck-Blankensee. In 1997, the arrival terminal was re-constructed and extended. Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
started operations in 2000 with first flight to London-Stansted and extended its route system over the years until 2009. Wizz Air
Wizz Air
Wizz Air Hungary Légiközlekedési Kft. is a Hungarian low-cost airline with headquarters in the Airport Business Park C2 in Vecsés, close to Budapest Ferihegy International Airport, Hungary. The airline typically uses secondary airports serving many cities across Europe.- History :The airline was...
started operations in 2006 with flights to Gdańsk and later other eastern European destinations. Discussions about Ryanair opening a base at the airport have been held since 2009 without results. In 2010, both the financial crisis and the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull
2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull
The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull were volcanic events at Eyjafjöll in Iceland which, although relatively small for volcanic eruptions, caused enormous disruption to air travel across western and northern Europe over an initial period of six days in April 2010. Additional localised disruption...
led to a general decrease in passenger numbers and destinations.
Infratil
Infratil
Infratil Limited is a New Zealand-based infrastructure investment company. It owns several airports, electricity generators and retailers, and a public transport business, with operations in New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Infratil was founded by Lloyd Morrison, a Wellington-based merchant...
bought 90% of the airport in November 2005, but sold its shares back to the City of Lübeck at the end of October 2009. The new principal operator Flughafen Lübeck GmbH is searching for an investor since. The city of Lübeck has announced to cut public funds at the end of 2012 if no private investor is found until then.
Ground transportation
- by car: via motorway A1 → A20 exit Lübeck-Süd (Lübeck-South);
- by train: regional trains run every hour between KielKielKiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
and LüneburgLüneburgLüneburg is a town in the German state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of fellow Hanseatic city Hamburg. It is part of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, and one of Hamburg's inner suburbs...
, stopping at Lübeck Airport and Lübeck HauptbahnhofLübeck Hauptbahnhofis the Hauptbahnhof for the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. It is a through station at the western edge of the city centre....
(Central Main Station). Connecting trains are available at Lübeck Hauptbahnhof or in BüchenBüchenBüchen is a municipality in the district of Lauenburg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Elbe-Lübeck Canal, approx. 13 km northeast of Lauenburg/Elbe, and 45 km east of Hamburg....
to Hamburg and other destinations. - by bus: The local bus line 6 connects the airport every 20 minutes with Lübeck's main bus station/ZOB. A regional shuttle bus, line A20, runs from the airport to Hamburg's central train station, stopping at the central coach station "ZOB" nearby. The schedule is depending on the aircraft arriving in and departing from Lübeck.
Expansion
The expansion plans developed by the airport since 2005 include the following:- extension of the runway to 2257 metres (7,404.9 ft),
- expansion of the apron areas to the north and south of the runway, customs clearance of up to 9 class "C" aircraft (Boeing 737, Airbus A320) and one class "D" aircraft (Boeing 767, Airbus 300),
- northern structural design zone for a passenger terminal building (approx. 40,000 m²) and periphery airport operating facilities as well as operating areas for ground traffic services,
- construction of navigational lights and re-location of centre line and touch down zone lighting for extended runway, taxiway and apron systems,
- navigation facilities to produce CAT II/III all-weather operations in 07 operating direction (east, ILS CAT I in 25 direction (west) remain the same),
- expansion of ground-side development with terminal access route and extension of parking facilities on the airport premises and north of it to a total of approx. 5,500 parking spaces,
- southern structured design zone for buildings for general aviation traffic, aircraft maintenance operations and association flights.
After interventions by local environmental protection societies, plans had to be revised in 2008 and are awaiting official approval since.
External links
- Lübeck Blankensee Airport (official site, in English and German)