Graz Airport

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Graz Airport
Graz Airport Logo.svg
Aerial view of Graz Airport.jpg
Characteristics
ICAO code LOWG
IATA code GRZ
Coordinates

46 ° 59 '28 "  N , 15 ° 26' 23"  E Coordinates: 46 ° 59 '28 "  N , 15 ° 26' 23"  E

Height above MSL 340 m (1115  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center 9 km south of Graz
Street South Autobahn A 2,
Pyhrn Autobahn A 9,
Grazer Strasse B 67
Local transport Regional bus routes 630, 631 S-Bahn Styria
Basic data
opening 1913
operator Airport Graz Betriebs GmbH ( Holding Graz )
Terminals 1
Passengers 1,036,929 (2019)
Air freight 8,101 t (including replacement air freight traffic , 2019)
Flight
movements
14,727 (2019)
Capacity
( PAX per year)
1,500,000 (adult 2015)
Employees approx. 200
Runways
17C / 35C 3000 m × 45 m asphalt
17R / 35L 760 m × 25 m grass
17L / 35R 640 m × 30 m grass

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The Graz Airport ( IATA : GRZ , ICAO : LOWG ) is located about 9 km south of Graz city center. The airport is used for civil aviation , is part of Holding Graz and home to the Austrian Aviation Museum .

Location and transport links

location

Most of the airport is in the village of Abtissendorf in the municipality of Feldkirchen and a smaller part in the cadastral municipality of Thalerhof in Kalsdorf . The dispatch hall is located in the village of Abtissendorf.

Road traffic

Motorized private transport

The airport can be reached via the A2 and A9 motorways and the B67 federal road.

Regional bus transport

The airport is connected to the public regional bus system of the Styrian transport association. Lines 630 and 631 connect the airport with Graz. The bus stop is in front of the departure hall, the journey from the airport to the center of Graz (Jakominiplatz) takes 16 to 28 minutes.

Rail transport

The airport is connected to the rail network of the Austrian Federal Railways via the Graz-Feldkirchen Airport train station . The train station is about 420 m east of the check-in hall. The S-Bahn line 5 connects the airport with Graz. The journey time between the airport train station and Graz main train station is eleven minutes. As part of the expansion of the Koralm Railway , a new railway line and a new underground station are to be built directly at the airport.

history

The airport tower
The newly built departure hall
Airport Arrivals Hall
Tower when approaching the airport
Security control
Lounge
Departure lounge
Roof terrace
Baggage reception
Aircraft handling
Rooftop restaurant

Graz Airport was built in the middle of the Grazer Feld on the grounds of a former Roman villa, which is believed to have been the center of a private economic entity in the province of Noricum .

From 1913 onwards, the then k. u. k. To build airfield hangars , also a grass airfield was built. The first aircraft finally took off on June 26, 1914.

In the same year, the Thalerhof internment camp was built on what is now the airport area and existed until 1917. Over time, at least 30,000 Ruthenians from Galicia and Bukovina who were suspected of being sympathizers of Russia were interned there. At least 3,000 of them died of inhumane conditions and the violence of the camp staff.

Three years after the camp was closed, the airport was transferred to the Styrian state government , which concentrated exclusively on gliding, as military and civil aviation were prohibited. Two years later the administration finally passed to the Republic of Austria.

In 1925 the first flight network in Austria was formed ( Vienna - Graz - Klagenfurt ). In the following years flight movements increased, the airport was integrated into the Austrian radio network, got a direction finding station and the construction of an airport building started.

From 1945, when the occupying powers decided in Austria, civil and military air traffic in Graz - as in the rest of Austria - was only allowed to the occupiers. Two years later, the airport returned to Austrian administration. On June 23, 1951, the occupiers approved the incorporation of Graz Airport into international air traffic. With the State Treaty of 1955 , Austria regained air sovereignty . An expansion of the airport soon became necessary. A 1,500 meter long concrete runway with a corresponding lighting system was built - as a novelty in Austria. As early as 1962, the 1,000. Passenger are counted. Gradually, Graz airport was integrated into the AUA network. The line Graz - Linz - Frankfurt was integrated into the international network.

The increasing number of passengers made it necessary to expand the runway to 3,000 m and to build a new terminal building. In the early 1980s, a Category III a / b precision instrument flight operation was installed, which meant that failures due to fog could almost be ruled out. In 1984 the first jumbo landed ( Boeing 747 ).

Ten years later, a new airport building was put into operation. A new freight building followed in 2001 and today's tower in 2002. In 2002, the Styrian architectural office Pittino & Ortner won the competition for the extension of the passenger building, which went into operation in 2005. In the course of the construction of the Koralm Railway , an underground train station integrated in the airport building (for both local and long-distance traffic) is to improve the connection from Graz Airport to the public transport system.

The new taxiway C (“Charlie”), which was built between March and May 2012 at a cost of EUR 4.6 million, has been in operation since June 6, 2012. As a high-speed taxiway, it is somewhat wider, branches off at 2/3 of the runway length, flatter, only 30 ° angled and is more gently curved than taxiways B at around 55% and D at 100% (at the north end) of the runway length. The new route, equipped with illuminated center line markings, makes approach and departure more fluid.

Railway system and navigation systems

Graz Airport has a central runway 3,000 m long and 45 m wide in a south-north orientation (17C-35C, as of 2011). There is a difference in altitude of -10 m between the southern and northern touchdown points. At the southern end this runway is widened by a turning area. Asphalt is used as the track surface. According to their load capacity classification (PCN 61, flexible surface, medium underground load capacity and tire pressure class without limit), aircraft up to the weight class of a huge Antonov An-124-100 can use the runway even when fully loaded. It does not take into account whether the take-off distance is sufficient for a safe start in any case.

Landings on the 35C (from the south) and take-offs on the 17C (to the south) take place with a tailwind of up to around 18 km / h (~ 10 knots). The reason for this lies in the location of the airport south of the city of Graz and the mountains beyond. Thus, only the path 35C with an ILS (engl. Instrument Landing System , dt. Instrument Landing System ) equipped. For reasons of noise protection, the Graz air traffic control center guides landing aircraft to the railroad using radar support and vector information - exact height and direction information transmitted by radio.

In addition to the ILS , in both directions exist in particular for visible pilot, an optical touch-support system ( VASI , engl. Visual Approach Slope Indicator type) PAPI (engl. Precision Approach Path Indicator , dt. Precision Approach approach slope indicator ). A DVOR (Engl. Doppler VHF Omni Directional Radio Range , dt. Doppler -Drehfunkfeuer ), a NDB (Engl. Non-Directional Beacon , dt. Omni-directional beacon ) and a DME (English. Distance Measuring Equipment , dt. Distance measuring device ) complement the Airport navigation equipment . In 2014, a 77 GHz ground radar system was also installed to increase safety in fog, snow and rain.

To the east and west of this central runway there are two grass runways. These may only be used to a limited extent and are closed in winter. The 17L-35R is 640 m long and 30 m wide. The 17R-35L is 760 m × 25 m in size.

meaning

Civil and military aviation

The rescue helicopter Christophorus  12 (C12) is stationed at Graz Airport. The flight police also maintain a base.

The military part of the airport was in the western part of the area and was owned by the armed forces. Together with the associated barracks, which had, among other things, several hangars and an aircraft yard, the " Nittner Air Base " was formed. In addition to Zeltweg (LOXZ), Graz was the base for the interceptors of the Austrian Armed Forces until 2008 . Since the Eurofighters were stationed exclusively in Zeltweg, military operations at Graz Airport were discontinued on October 1, 2008. The shipyard was then in operation until December 9, 2013. With the complete closure, the Graz area and the surrounding area lost a traditional military aviation location .

The area of ​​considerable size and the aviation infrastructure located there (taxiway, buildings, petrol station, roads and asphalt surfaces, hangars, etc.) is now being marketed by a company under the name " Airbase One ". There are currently various leisure facilities such as a trampoline hall, indoor ski slope, archery and a climbing park , and a hotel is also planned.

The Austrian Aviation Museum has also been located at the airport since 1981 .

The western part of the airport complex is used for numerous parachutist drop flights in the summer months . Furthermore, several glider clubs are stationed on the west side of the airport.

Traffic figures

The tonnage of incoming freight is many times that of the departing freight.

Numbers according to the airport administration
year Passengers Flight movements Freight volume including air freight replacement traffic
in tons
2005 0.893.346 18,880 10,085
2006 0.912.830 17,367 10,013
2007 0.948.294 17,855 11,319
2008 1.008.156 19,501 10.165
2009 0.948.380 18,065 08,230
2010 0.990.118 17,387 11,062
2011 0.976.543 15,958 10,977
2012 0.930.617 14,581 10.210
2013 0.881.740 14,879 11,281
2014 0.897.421 14,384 09,652
2015 0.963.396 15,466 08,696
2016 0.981.884 14,435 09,156.5
2017 0.959.166 14,466 08,899
2018 1,030,929 14,888 09,549
2019 1,036,929 14,727 08.101

Airlines and destinations

EasyJet flies to Berlin several times a week, KLM flies to Amsterdam up to six times a week , and airlines of the Lufthansa group connect Graz with their hubs in Frankfurt , Munich (Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti , up to 5 times a day), Düsseldorf , Stuttgart and Vienna ( Austrian Airlines , several times a day) as well as Zurich ( Swiss , daily), Turkish Airlines fly to Istanbul several times a week .

Incidents

No aircraft accidents at or near the airport are recorded in the Aviation Safety Network database. Only one event attracted significant public attention.

  • On June 3, 1954, a Douglas DC-3 / C-47-A-1-DK of Sabena (OO-CBY) , which was used to transport animals from Blackbushe Airport to Belgrade , was passing the Austrian-Yugoslav border near Maribor Shot at by a Soviet MiG-15 fighter plane without warning . The radio operator died and two other crew members were injured. The uninjured British first officer, a former Royal Air Force fighter pilot , then took control of the machine and flew evasive maneuvers. An emergency landing at Graz Airport was successful. Investigations revealed that the machine was outside of any no-fly zones when the shelling occurred. The Soviet side denied this (see also shelling of a Douglas C-47 of the Sabena near Maribor ) .
  • August 7, 2004: A regional jet Avro RJ 85 of Lufthansa CityLine was on approach to the airport. The co-pilot was steering the small four-jet engine when the elevator and ailerons suddenly failed. At that moment the plane was no longer under control. The master reported the emergency and took over the controls, which fortunately worked on his side. They managed to regain control of the aircraft. After waiting loops with system checks, D-AVRO landed safely at the airport. All available rescue workers were available there for the emergency landing. The message "Emergency landing after total failure of the control" went around the world.

Non-aviation areas

A SPAR grocery store opened in September 2008 and is open daily from 5:30 am to 9:00 pm. 400,000 purchases were made in the first fiscal year.

The Globetrotter restaurant is located on the outdoor viewing terrace on the top floor .

The cylindrical tower, which can be seen from afar, shows advertising or current information on a circumferential, single-line LED neon sign.

There is a room for company celebrations, the corridor in front of it is used as an exhibition gallery with pictures. In the northeast in front of the building there is a ground level area with children's play equipment.

A parking garage offers 2,200 spaces for cars.

Annual report 2009

In 2009, the volume of passengers, aircraft movements and air freight fell slightly. In the same year, measures were taken to increase efficiency in the use of energy for lighting (−30%) and building heating (−5%). Noise protection requirements were responded to by changing and varying the approach and departure routes and traffic patterns. 2 blower sweepers, which complete and accelerate the snow removal with rotating steel brooms and blowers behind the snow plows, were purchased. 50,000 m 2 of land was purchased for the 5th airport expansion . In January 2009 an ÖAMTC base was put into operation. 300 events took place in the various rooms up to the large equipment hall. Free WiFi has been available in large parts of the airport building since December 2009.

Energy efficiency

For the replacement of lights to more efficient technology (metal halide lamps to LEDs, T8 fluorescent tubes using an adapter to the thinner T5 types or to LED T8 tube replacement and also the runway lighting from above-floor to LED underfloor lights) and, in one case, a reduction in illuminance of Between 1990 and 2013, the airport received 15 awards from 350 lux to the required 300 lux, as part of the Ökoprofit brand .

Active citizen Rainer Maichin (winner of the Energy Globe Styria Award 2011 and Environment Prize 2012 from the City of Graz (2nd)) pointed out that the airport and the APCOA parking garage could save electricity with his 18th energy hunt project in September 2013 An amount of 33,300 kWh / year with 23 illuminated signs (signposts and information signs) outdoors. Your internal fluorescent tubes have been operated around the clock for many years, which is sometimes barely noticeable during the day. He published the result as Regionaut in the online Bezirksblatt www.meinzeile.at and received an invitation to a buffet for two as a thank you. Calculated at 0.11 € / kWh, the annual savings potential amounts to 3500 € for energy alone, without costs for lamps and their replacement.

See also

Web links

Commons : Graz Airport  - Collection of images

Individual evidence

  1. a b c Figures, data & facts. Graz Airport, accessed on January 27, 2019 .
  2. Graz Airport - figures, data, facts , graphics: key figures 2007–2019
  3. ↑ To Roman times by plane - a sequel. At www.flughafen-graz.at> Presse Lounge, presumably 2009, accessed on June 26, 2015
  4. ^ NN: 65 years of Graz Airport, in: Wilhelm Steinböck : Balance of an anniversary; Graz 1980.
  5. http://www.flughafen-graz.at/unternehmen/presse/aktuelles/ansicht/fhg/flughafen-graz-bau-eines-schnellabrollweges-macht-kurzzeitige-pistenverkuerzung-notwendig.html Graz Airport: Building a Schnellabrollweg makes short-term Runway shortening necessary, Graz Airport, April 10, 2012, accessed December 26, 2015.
  6. https://www.austrianwings.info/2012/07/rollweg-c-am-flughafen-graz-fertigte/ Rollweg C at Graz Airport completed, austrianwings.info July 12, 2012, accessed December 26, 2015
  7. Runway Info under Airports IATA, Airports Runwayinfo
  8. LOWG Procedures ( Memento of the original from May 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ivao.martlsoft.net
  9. Federal Ministry of Defense
  10. ^ Bundesheer leaves the air base after 99 years , ORF Steiermark, accessed on December 9, 2013.
  11. Airbase One ( Memento of the original from June 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.airbase-one.at
  12. Traffic results 2015. Graz Airport, January 14, 2015, accessed on January 14, 2015 .
  13. http://www.flughafen-graz.at/unternehmen/presse/aktuelles/ansicht/fhg/flughafen-graz-drittes-jahr-in-haben-mit-passagierplus.html January 11, 2017.
  14. Graz Airport :: View :: Flight information, flight plan, departure, arrival, travel. Retrieved January 22, 2020 .
  15. Airport Profile in English in the Aviation Safety Network.
  16. ^ Accident report DC-3 OO-CBY , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on July 30, 2020.
  17. ^ Accident report Lufthansa flight 5386 , in English.
  18. Archive link ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Annual report 2009, Graz Airport (German / English), accessed December 26, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.flughafen-graz.at
  19. http://www.stenum.at/media/documents/oep-auszeichnung2013.pdf Ökoprofit Award 2013, p. 52, Graz Environment Agency, 2013, accessed December 26, 2015.
  20. http://www.umweltservice.graz.at/infos/geg9/Schlagbauer_FH_Graz_Energiesparlicht_v9_Grazer_Energiegespraeche.pdf Graz Airport - Experience with LEDs and energy-efficient lighting, Airport Maintenance & Development: Ing.Georg Schlagbauer, Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH, (PDF of a presentation) . January 27, 2011, accessed December 26, 2015.
  21. http://www.einsparkraftwerk.at/home/impressum.htm Imprint, Einsparkrafterk, Rainer Maichin, 2012–2015, accessed December 26, 2015.
  22. http ://www.mein Bezirk.at/graz/wirtschaft/erverbindliche-energie-jagd-beim-flughafen-graz-d686239.html Successful energy hunt at Graz Airport, Rainer Maichin, mein district.at, September 13, 2013, accessed December 26, 2015.
  23. http: //www.mein Bezirk.at/graz/wirtschaft/der-erste- Fehler-bei-der-energie-jagd-d699529.html The first mistake in the energy hunt, Rainer Maichin, mein district.at, 22. September 2013, accessed December 26, 2015.