Saarbrücken Airport
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The Saarbrücken Airport is the international airport of Saarland Saarbrücken. With around 453 652 passengers per year ( 2011) it belongs next to Erfurt at the two smallest of the 16 international airports in Germany.
- 3.1 Traffic figures
- 4.1 terminal
- 4.2 Tower
- 4.3 airstrip
- 4.4 Observation Deck
- 5.1 Cirrus Airlines
- 5.3 Gate Gourmet
- 5.4 City Solar
- 6.1 Investments in flight operations related equipment
- 6.2 Investment in and around the airport
- 8.1 pre-war period: Construction of air traffic
- 8.2 Postwar: Reconstruction and Growth
- 8.3 1990-2000: strong growth
- 8.4 Since 2000: record number of passengers, intrusion and re-emergence
Location and catchment area
The international airport of the Saarland state capital is located in Ensheim district, about 5 km as the crow east of downtown.
It is located on a hill ( " Ensheimer height "), which is bounded to the west and east by a steeply inclined surface and to the north and south by a gentle incline - a position that long a repeatedly discussed expansion of 1990 m in East west direction running start and runway makes possible only under enormous effort (eg extension on stilts or twisting).
About Regionally, there is the Saarbrücken Airport in core European SaarLorLux region. Its catchment area covers mainly the Saar, the adjacent regions of France, Lorraine and Alsace, Luxembourg and the neighboring Rhineland- Palatinate.
In this region, it competes with the airports Luxembourg, Frankfurt -Hahn, Strasbourg, Metz -Nancy- Lorraine, and two bridges for passengers.
Transport links
Car
Across the street to the airport from all directions via the A6 motorway, exit Fechingen / airport or St. Ingbert-West/Flughafen and the adjacent airport expressway can be achieved L108.
At the airport are over 1000 parking spaces available, of which almost 1000 in the P1 parking and over 100 in the parking lots in the terminal environment.
Bus
The airport is the main railway station Saarbrücken R10 direction Blieskastel hourly reached by regional bus line.
At the main station in Saarbrücken is connection to the national and international ICE network, national and international intercity, regional services and the Saarbrücken city transport ( tram, bus and regional bus network).
More Offers
In addition, the airport is served by several private shuttle companies and there are branches there four renowned car rental service providers.
Airlines and destinations
Air Berlin flies up to three times daily to Berlin and every day to Palma, Luxair flies twice daily from Luxembourg via Saarbrücken to Berlin and up to twice daily to Hamburg. From the summer of 2014 Hamburg Airways returns to Saarbruecken. In addition, Sun Express flies up to 3 times a week to Antalya.
Every day at Saarbrücken Airport on average about 25 takeoff and landing flights per day, on vacation tips sometimes up to 40, half of which are clustered in the morning and evening off-peak traffic, where the planes are partially in the five-to ten -minute intervals and land.
Traffic figures
Architecture / Facilities
Terminal
Since opening for passenger traffic on 1 December 2001, the Saarbrücken Airport has a new terminal, which has replaced the old airport terminal. Covering an area of about 55,000 m², of which 30,000 m² building area plus connecting building to the existing and refurbished clearance section it was within two years after the plans of the Stuttgart architects using many glass panels and a roof, which is formed in the shape of a wing. It is designed for 700,000 passengers per year.
On two levels here are all facilities which are necessary for air traffic accommodated.
At level 0 ( ground floor) there are 13 check- in counters and a special baggage switch, just under 20 travel agencies and ticket desk, two airport shops (including a duty- free shop ), the check- tract with the safety-related equipment, five gates, the baggage carousels and the airport bar and the central information desk.
At level 1 is located on a plateau at 360 sqm area, the airport restaurant; the conference rooms and the vast panoramic terrace and beer garden which offers views over the entire apron, and the airstrip, located on level 1
Both levels combines a provided with a revolving staircase glass cube, where a lift is housed.
Tower
The tower in which the air traffic controllers of the German air traffic control are housed, is grown west of the terminal building.
Airstrip
The airport has a 1990 m long and 45 m wide paved runway and landing strip in east-west direction (09 /27), on the types of aircraft up to the size of the Boeing 767 and the Airbus A330 to land and launch. However, larger aircraft categories are subject to restrictions on loading and refueling due to the path length. On 25 August 2011, the runway has been shortened to 1990 m. This was due to the compliant production of strip and RESA.
Due to its geographical situation, only the landing direction 27 is equipped with an instrument landing system (ILS ). In addition to the approach direction 09 there is only a VOR / DME and a GPS instrument approach procedure.
The path is bounded at both ends by a steeply inclined surface, so that an extension only with great effort. The last time was discussed by about 400m 2006/2007 on the background of the crisis by the strengthened competition from two bridges over an extension of the web; the given by the state government in order plan approval provided as results include the possibility of a solution stilts - as in Madeira - or pivoting the rail by a few degrees or a new building to the game. Meanwhile, the extension is due to the uplift in Saarbrücken Airport temporarily off the table, since all airlines with the current path length have no problems.
Viewing platform
Just south of the airport is located on the airport expressway L108 the viewing platform, which allows a panorama -like view of the runway and runway on there takeoff and landing aircraft and the apron of the terminal and other facilities.
Companies at the airport
Cirrus Airlines
Cirrus Airlines was founded in 1995 at Saarbrücken Airport. They moved its headquarters to Munich in 2008, but came back in 2010 to Saarbruecken. Cirrus Airlines but operated at operating setting no longer with connections from Saarbrucken, as cover at this time with Luxair and Air Berlin direct competitors lucrative routes with an oversupply. On 23 January 2012, the bankruptcy application was made for Cirrus Airlines.
OLT had a Fokker 100 stationed in Saarbrücken and offered from there flights to Munich, Hamburg, Vienna and London Southend - on. The company OLT had taken their since 1988 at Saarbrücken airport operated maintenance operation on 1 September 2012 with the acquisition of Contact Air; In addition to the nine private jets and aircraft of other airlines are serviced there. On January 28, 2013 OLT Express filed for bankruptcy. Earlier, the airline had already adjusted their flight operations.
The shipyard was dissolved in late 2013 from the assets acquired by the Eheim group and has since been trading as Contact Air GmbH
Gate Gourmet
The Swiss catering service, Gate Gourmet operates a branch at Saarbrücken Airport, serving the planes of the major airlines with food and drink.
City Solar
The company Conergy operates on the southern part of the site of the airport parallel to the airstrip to 26,000 ² a solar power plant with a capacity of 4.2 MW, which provides electricity for about 2,000 households and has been created in three stages since 2004.
Investments in the coming years
On Saarbrücken airport a total of around 15 million euros will be invested in the coming years by government and private lenders.
The investments can be divided into two categories:
Investment in flight operations related equipment
- Routine rehabilitation of the runway pavement and the construction of security zones at the ends of the airstrip.
Investment in and around the airport
- Renovation of the administration building
- Construction of a new maintenance hangar by the Swabian Eheim Group
- Construction of a new parking garage
- Conversion of a hangar for arrivals building, including areas for Federal Police and Customs
- Construction of a hotel
- Construction of a vehicle and equipment hall
- Construction of additional hangars
- Establishment of a flight simulator center in conjunction with the HTW Aviation degree program in Göttelborn
- More office space next to the Cirrus building
Criticism at the airport
The airport deficit is increasingly coming under criticism. So had the annual balance sheet in 2011, a record deficit of 10.1 million euros.
History
Pre-war period: Construction of air traffic
The Saarbrücken Airport in the district Ensheim, belonging to 31 December 1973 the district of St. Ingbert, built in the years 1937-1939 and should be the alternative to the Saarbrücken- St.Arnual existing airport. This already had some international connections, but was not suitable because of poor aerodynamics and constant weather-related closures for future air traffic. With the landing of the last scheduled airliner Deutsche Lufthansa on October 25, 1939 at 19.10 clock for the time being ended the story of the Saarbrücken airport.
On 1 September 1939 the new Ensheim airport should be opened. Exactly on that day, but broke out of the Second World War. At the opening it did not come.
Post-war period: Reconstruction and Growth
In the postwar years, initially did not have much on the Saarbrücken Airport. The final closure of the St. Arnual airport was in 1955. Was not until the mid-1960s there were again more concrete plans for expansion, especially the runway on the larger aircraft could not land and was thus an obstacle to the access to international destinations. In 1967 there was the first regular scheduled flights from Saarbrucken to Dusseldorf by the LTU; the runway was expanded 1966-1969 to 2,100 meters. Thus, in the following years, more and more domestic air connections to major German cities were added, including Berlin ( Modern Air, Pan American and TAT ), Hamburg, Kassel (General Air), Munich (LTU ) and Frankfurt am Main. In 1972, Saarbrücken airport to the eleventh international airport in Germany was. With this, a tract expansion of the existing station building was created.
1990-2000: strong growth
In the 1990s, the Saarbrücken airport experienced a huge increase in passengers; since 1995 the number of passengers increased by 58 percent to 483,000 ( 2000), and it began more extensions in the terminal building. After two years of construction, the expanded terminal building was completed in 2000 and is now rated for 700,000 passengers.
Since 2000: record number of passengers, intrusion and re-emergence
With 487 314 passengers in 2005, Saarbrücken Airport scored his best result to date, surpassing the record level of 2000, with at that time 484 615 passengers. Compared to 2004, with 461 348 passengers, this represents an increase of 5.6 percent. For 2006, the Saarbrücken Airport aimed at to cross the 500,000 th mark, but instead a decrease of 13 per cent to 421 369 passengers was recorded. 2007, the number of passengers - due to the competition from Zweibrücken Airport and the departure of the airline TUIfly - again to just under 350,000 passengers back.
Since mid-2007, is again a revival feel: Air Berlin offers from Saarbruecken a variety of destinations at home and abroad since 2008 Luxair has expanded its range from Saarbrücken and referred to the Saarbrücken Airport as a second home airport.
On 4 December 2008, the 500,000 th passenger of the year was handled at Saarbrücken Airport.
On the initiative of the then Saarland Minister of Economics Joachim Rippel and due to the very strengthened position of the airport Saarbrücken by the commitment of Air Berlin and Luxair, the national governments of Saarland and Rhineland -Palatinate have agreed to resume talks for cooperation with nearby Zweibrücken. A planned extension of the Saarland state government of Ensheimer runway will initially not pursued; the plan approval process for extending to 400 m but further progress in order to respond to future developments in air transport when necessary.
Moreover, it was built in the years 2004 and 2005 in several phases solar panels on the southern side of the airport with a total capacity of 4 MWp.
In 2011, Air Berlin expanded its range from the airport Saarbrücken strong. Since May 1, three daily Air Berlin machines between Saarbrücken and Berlin operate. In addition, Air Berlin flies once or twice daily from Saarbruecken to Palma de Mallorca. The winter timetable 2011/2012 Air Berlin also offers a daily connection to Nuremberg. From there, passengers can get to almost all destinations around the Mediterranean. On weekends, direct flights are offered to Gran Canaria.
In February 2012, the European Commission opened an investigation into possible illegal state aid. The airport had received regular injections of capital from state funds and it is doubtful whether he is operable under market conditions. All airlines received systematic discounts on airport fees, Air Berlin and Cirrus also additional payments so that an unfair competitive advantage and effect.
From 1 October 2012 the German OLT Express flew from Saarbrucken to Hamburg, Munich, Vienna and seasonal to London Southend. She put her flight operations, however, in early January 2013, and shortly thereafter went into bankruptcy.