Bitburg Airfield
| Bitburg Airfield | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | EDRB |
| IATA code | BBJ |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 373 m (1224 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 4 km southeast of Bitburg |
| Basic data | |
| operator | Bitburg Airfield GmbH |
| Terminals | 1 |
| Start-and runway | |
| 05/23 | 3056 m × 45 m asphalt |
The airfield Bitburg ( IATA code BBJ , ICAO code EDRB ) is an airfield with night flight permit at Bitburg in the region Trier . He was in the days of the Cold War, a military airfield of the US Air Force and was named Bitburg Air Base .
business
It is operated by Flugplatz Bitburg GmbH from the districts of Bernkastel-Wittlich , Bitburg-Prüm , Trier-Saarburg , the city of Trier and the Vulkaneifel Daun economic development company, as well as the Trier Chamber of Commerce and Industry . There are currently no scheduled or charter flights.
At the airfield there is a large commercial, service and leisure center with over 160 companies from various industries, an accommodation offering over 1500 hotel beds and facilities for holidays, sports and conferences.
Bitburg Air Base
The airfield, which opened as Bitburg Air Base on September 1, 1952 , was home to the 36th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force . Shortly after the Second World War, large-scale surveying work for the airfield was carried out initially by the French and later by the Americans. In 1950 the land needed for the construction was expropriated, which led to great unrest among the population. Together with the nearby Spangdahlem Air Base , it was an important NATO base during the Cold War . Initially, F-84 Thunderjet were stationed there, but they were replaced by F-86 Saber in 1953 and by F-100 C / F Super Saber in 1956 . From the end of 1954 another F-86F squadron came for just under one year of the 388th Fighter Bomber Wing added, the intended use based Etain was still not completed. In 1954, a tank farm was built in Niederstedem for the stationed fighter planes, and in the same year there was a serious tank farm explosion . Also from 1954 MGM-1 Matador missiles with nuclear warheads were stationed.
After the F-100 C / F, Republic F-105 "Thunderchief" of the F-105 D / F versions was stationed at the air base from 1961 to 1965 . From 1966 F-4 D "Phantom II" were initially used in Bitburg, which was replaced from 1969 by F-4 E "Phantom II". In 1977 F-15 A / B "Eagle" was finally supplied. This version was replaced from 1980 by the more modern version F-15 C / D and used until it was dissolved in 1994. It is also of interest that for many years fighter planes were stationed in Bitburg that were not organizationally subordinate to the "36th Tactical Fighter Wing". From the mid-1950s, these were F-86 D "Saber Dog" and from 1958 Convair F-102 "Delta Dagger" , which were used in Bitburg until 1969 and were part of the "86th Air Division" in Ramstein . In addition, the then very well-known aerobatic team "Skyblazers" with F-100 C "Super Saber" was established in Bitburg from 1956 to 1961. The military airfield was in operation until 1994 when it was converted to civilian use. It was briefly used in 1997 by the 52nd Fighter Wing while repairing the runway at Spangdahlem Air Base.
conversion
After the withdrawal of the American troops, the area was converted into a commercial, service and leisure center as part of a conversion . This was done through a specially founded association . The areas that were reserved for aviation use were deliberately excluded. The aim of local politics was to enable civil aviation use.
In order to use the 484 hectare site with more than 400 high-rise buildings for civil use, the so-called Bitburger conversion model was created with a nationwide model character. In 2004, an urban development contract was signed for this purpose between the federal government, the state and the Zweckverband Flugplatz Bitburg. The special feature of this model compared to other conversion projects is the cooperation between the municipality, the state and the federal government. This is regulated by contract. Specifically, this means that the association is in charge of urban planning and land-use planning according to coordinated development goals, the joint financing (federal, state and local authority) of the development costs, the marketing of the properties by the Federal Agency for Real Estate Tasks and the support of development through expert advice and financial support by the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
The planned aeronautical expansion by a private investor
Since the US Air Force withdrew , there have been several attempts to use it for aviation purposes. These ranged from the settlement of aircraft manufacturers to the operation of a shipyard airport .
A notarized contract was signed on January 15, 2010, whereby 40.53% of the shares in Flugplatz GmbH were taken over retrospectively as of November 1, 2009 from the Luxembourg investor Frank Lamparski. More detailed information on this is reserved for the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Michael Billen . The shareholders of Flugplatz Bitburg GmbH had already approved the takeover on October 18, 2009.
Lamparski wanted to gradually develop the Bitburg airfield for civil use through the Stintec project development office in Mamer . As the capacities of Luxembourg Airport and Hahn Airport reached their limits in the next few years, an expansion in several phases is intended on the available site. The Luxembourg-based project developer wanted to take over the entire airport by mid-2010 with financial resources, which were to come primarily from investment funds, and expand it into a regional and cargo airport. Cargo operations should begin within three years and passenger operations within five years.
According to the announcement at the end of May 2010, Lamparski also wanted to take over the remaining shares in the Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm (37.89%) and the city of Bitburg (16.32%). In December 2011 Lamparski announced that he had found a group of Asian investors who wanted to invest a total of around 380 million euros in the expansion into an international airport.
On April 11, 2012, the SWR reported that the planned takeover of Bitburg airfield by Lamparski would not materialize. Lamparski had not been able to provide evidence of EUR 30 million in start-up capital before an agreed deadline, said Flugplatz Bitburg GmbH. The most important prerequisite for the business was missing. This contractually fixed sum was never deposited into a project-related account. An ultimatum to meet the demand passed, which the chairman of the supervisory board of Flugplatz Bitburg GmbH, Michael Billen, commented with "The deal has blown". As a result of the failed investments, some municipalities, such as the city of Trier, which held stakes in Flugplatz GmbH, sold their shares.
Movie and TV
The backdrop of the Bitburg airfield served as a filming location for an illegal car race for the episode Extreme of Alarm für Cobra 11 - The Autobahn Police. At the time of filming, the former military airfield was still closed.
On November 4, 2009, the SWR broadcast a program from the series “Reiss & Menschen” on the subject of “The dispute over the expansion of the Bitburg airfield”.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bitburg Airfield: Bitburg Airfield “We about us” ( Memento from December 5, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) viewed on December 3, 2008.
- ↑ FliegerRevue May 2011, pp. 52–53, From the Air Base to the Airfield
- ↑ Bitburger model. Zweckverband Flugplatz Bitburg. Retrieved March 11, 2015 .
- ↑ What nothing came of the Ex Airbase. Friend of the people. Retrieved March 11, 2015 .
- ↑ Agreement to take over 40.53% free and additional shares in Flugplatz Bitburg GmbH. News. (No longer available online.) January 27, 2010, archived from the original on December 13, 2013 ; Retrieved April 29, 2014 .
- ↑ Lucien Wolff: Before the flight comes the silence. (No longer available online.) In: Luxemburger Wort . January 16, 2010; Archived from the original on January 20, 2010 ; Retrieved April 29, 2014 .
- ↑ Michèle Sinner: Welcome to my backyard. Expansion plans for Bitburg Airport. (No longer available online.) In: d'Land. October 29, 2009, archived from the original on April 29, 2014 ; Retrieved April 29, 2014 .
- ↑ Lucien Wolff: Alternative airport for the Findel. In: Luxemburger Wort. November 2, 2009, accessed April 17, 2016 .
- ↑ Project planner Lamparski informed about the planned expansion of the "Bit-Airport" ( Memento from October 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The professionalism and rigor of the approach are impressive. (No longer available online.) In: Lëtzebuerger Journal. Formerly in the original ; Retrieved May 29, 2010 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Investor wants to expand airfield with 380 million euros. (MP3) In: SWR. December 22, 2011, accessed April 29, 2014 .
- ↑ Start-up capital for Bitburg Airport not yet available. Airliners.de, February 8, 2012, accessed February 8, 2012 .
- ↑ Planned takeover of Bitburg airfield burst. In: Handelsblatt. dpa, April 11, 2012, accessed on April 29, 2014 .
- ↑ The dispute over the expansion of the Bitburg airfield. (No longer available online.) In: "Reiss & Menschen". SWR Rhineland-Palatinate, November 4, 2009, formerly in the original ; Retrieved November 4, 2009 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
