History

2001: 90 years of Hamburg Airport

Hamburg Airport celebrates its 90th birthday with a formal gala evening in Hamburg’s town hall, attended by over 600 invited guests. The airport is now the oldest airport still operating from its original location. The oldest international flight service, between Hamburg and Amsterdam, has been in operation since 1920.

In the course of the HAM 21 Expansion Programme the new office building for the airport operating company (FHG) – Lilienthalhaus – and a rental car centre with 800 parking spaces are completed. A total of 7,800 parking spaces are now available. The demolition of the old Terminal 2, inaugurated in 1929 as a municipal administration building, sees the dawn of a new era at Hamburg Airport. The historic building will be replaced with a new terminal – today’s Terminal 1 – built in the same style as Terminal 4 (today Terminal 2). The opening of new access roads to the terminal buildings significantly reduces traffic congestion at the airport.

Visitors to the airport can already admire the airport as it will be at the end of 2008 when visiting the model airport show, reopened after an investment of some 1.1 million euros.

The Hamburg Airport Classics aviation show on 16th and 17th June is the highlight of the anniversary year. In keeping with its 90th birthday the airport presents the 70,000 visitors with 107 historic and modern aircraft spanning nine decades of aviation history.

The new noise protection hangar, which commences operations in December, provides a significant reduction in noise pollution. In 2001 it is the only hangar in the world to be enclosed on three sides and roofed over, providing wide-bodied aircraft with facilities to test their turbines at full power. Virtually all Boeing and Airbus models with varying engines can be tested up to maximum take off power behind closed doors.

The 200 millionth passenger passes through Hamburg Airport since its opening in 1911. A total of 9,490,432 m passengers are recorded in this anniversary year – a slight decrease of 4.6 percent. Take-offs and landings also decrease slightly, by 3.9 percent. The decrease in passengers numbers this year can, perhaps, be attributed primarily to fear of new terrorist attacks. Despite this terrible event and falling passenger numbers Hamburg Airport looks forward optimistically to the future and continues undeterred with its HAM 21 Expansion Programme.

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