Augsburg Airport
| Augsburg Airport | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | EDMA |
| IATA code | Conditions |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 462 m (1516 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 7 km northeast of Augsburg |
| Street |
 Augsburg-Ost cross
|
| Local transport | bus |
| Basic data | |
| opening | June 22, 1968 |
| operator | Augsburg Airport GmbH |
| Terminals | 1 |
| Start-and runway | |
| 07/25 | 1594 m × 30 m asphalt |
The airport Augsburg is a German airfield . The airfield is not, despite the otherwise self-description commercial airport .
It is located about 7 km northeast of Augsburg city center near the federal autobahn 8 exit 73 Augsburg-Ost near the small town of Mühlhausen ( Affing municipality ) in the Aichach-Friedberg district . The airfield is therefore also called Augsburg-Mühlhausen airfield, and because it is mostly located on Mühlhauser Flur .
Transport links
The Augsburg airport can be reached by car via the A 8 motorway (Augsburg Ost exit). At the airport itself there are over 800 free parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of the check-in area. A taxi takes around 15 minutes from downtown Augsburg.
The airport can be reached by public transport either with the Augsburg Airport Express or with the regional bus routes 301, 303, 305 (currently no direct stop at the terminal). There is no connection to rail traffic.
history
Old airfield (south of the city center)
New airfield
Beginnings until 1985
In 1962, a new "landing pad for powered aircraft" was approved by the state in Augsburg. The 700 meter long concrete runway was to be built in the north of the urban area on the border with the community of Mühlhausen . According to the company's own statements, "Augsburger Flughafen GmbH" was founded as the operator in 1964. Political support for the project, for example from Mayor Wolfgang Pepper and many city councilors, was secured.
On June 22, 1968, the "Augsburg-Mühlhausen Airport" opened. It gradually developed into Germany's largest airfield, due to the high frequency of air sports with airplanes and business jets . In 1970, the mayor and economic advisor Ludwig Kotter emphasized the city's interest in being integrated into domestic German air traffic.
On September 8, 1985, the aerobatic team of the Royal Air Force Red Arrows appeared in Augsburg on the organized flight day .
Impetus from Augsburg Airways
In 1985 a control zone was set up at the airfield , which from now on not only enabled visual flights , but also instrument flight in unfavorable weather conditions. The airline "Interot Airways", which was controlled by the paper company Haindl and later renamed Augsburg Airways , was now involved in scheduled air traffic. Other airlines handled charter flights from the Fugger city. At the end of November 1997 the airfield received a new tower. In the following year, a permanently manned customs and police station was built in the airport building in order to be internationally competitive.
In its prime, Augsburg Airways operated 13 scheduled flight connections a day. In 2000 there were a total of 83,366 take-offs and landings at the Augsburg airfield. When the Haindl paper mills were sold to UPM-Kymmene , the purchaser was not interested in their airline.
Augsburg Airways became the so-called subcarrier of Lufthansa in 2002 , which means that the flights took place on their behalf and under their flight number. Therefore, their home base moved to Munich Airport and has not flew from the Augsburg airfield since then.
The number of flights has not yet paid off economically. The short runway proved to be a shortcoming for possible further expansion. Residents kept complaining about aircraft noise .
Development since 2002
In 2002, Augsburg Airways ceased operations at Augsburg Airport. Since then, the airfield had been used exclusively by denim Airways , which initially operated under the “Eurohopper” label. Twice a day there were connections to Berlin-Tempelhof and Düsseldorf , which were mainly used by business travelers.
From 2004 to April 2005 a relocation of the airfield to the existing large military airfield Lagerlechfeld south of Augsburg was under discussion. The high fees demanded by the Federal Ministry of Defense for the civil use of this airfield could not be raised in the end, so that these plans failed and the relocation to Lagerlechfeld will not be pursued until further notice.
The number of passengers landed and took off in 2005 was around 48,000.
The hopes of politicians and local businesses for an attractive regional airport based on the success of Augsburg Airways were dashed. An airfield expansion would have required 25 million euros, for which no funding was available. The austerity course that was now beginning forced Flughafen GmbH to reduce its staff from 60 to 19 people.
In June 2005 bankruptcy proceedings were opened; As part of this process, Flughafen München GmbH also got out as a partner. The city of Augsburg is henceforth the sole owner of the operating company. In April 2006 it was decided to expand the airfield into a modern city airport. In addition to the extensive renovation of the runway, two new large halls were built and an 80,000 m² industrial area for businesses close to the airport was built. Since September 2009 there has been regular international air traffic again. Sun Air of Scandinavia flies the Augsburg - Marseille route twice a day on behalf of Airbus Helicopters . Since 2016, Flexflight has also been serving the Augsburg - Salzburg route once a week .
Because of the short runway at the Augsburg airfield, aircraft the size of a Boeing 737 cannot land in Augsburg. During 2009 the runway was grooved. This means that the milling of transverse grooves improves the grip of the tires of landing machines. Rainwater runs off better after a groove. As a result of this measure, higher payloads can be applied to the landing masses of the aircraft.
In 2014 another hangar for business aviators was built due to the great demand.
Affinger contracts
The Affinger contracts were agreements between the municipality of Affing and the city of Augsburg, which, for example, limited the length of the runway at Augsburg airfield.
The first Affinger contract was signed in 1991. It included, for example, the following points: no extension of the runway , no new construction of the tower , construction of active noise protection measures and construction of an aircraft hangar for the company Interot Airways (later Augsburg Airways ).
The second Affinger contract was signed on December 21, 1995. This included, for example, the following points: New construction and relocation of the tower, extension of the runway lighting to 420 m as well as the establishment of 60 m security strips . The number of aircraft parking spaces is limited to 135, the maximum number of aircraft movements is limited to 75,000 per year and a noise protection hangar must be built and operated by June 1996. In the contract, the airport operator, Augsburger Flughafen GmbH and AFG, also promised not to extend the runway in Affing's municipal area for ten years. In return, the Affing community, for example, decided not to take legal action against the construction of the control tower. Until the end of 2004, the “Affinger Contract” limited the length of the runway to 1,280 meters, thereby excluding larger aircraft from taking off and landing at the same time.
However, the runway was extended by 190 m (safety stretches for aborted take-off ) before the contract expired . After the expiry of the contract, the use of the entire runway (1280 m plus 314 m safety routes; load capacity: 50 tons) was approved by the Aviation Office.
Because of massive citizen protests in the nearby communities such as Affing (where the airfield is largely located), Gersthofen , Neusäß u. a. as well as the local conditions, which allow an instrument approach (ILS) only in a westerly direction ( runway 25 ), an extension of the runway does not seem possible. Also the initiative group against the airport expansion , an amalgamation of the initiatives against aircraft noise in Gersthofen, Augsburg and surroundings e. V. and the citizens' initiative Livable Firnhaberau , committed against an expansion of the Augsburg airfield.
Economical meaning
The number of resident charter airlines has increased to five with Challengeline Aircharter , Sun Air of Scandinavia , MFA Munich Flight Academy , Heli Aviaton and Helicopter Academy Augsburg . Local politicians hope that the airfield will have a positive impact on local economic development despite the setbacks so far. Among other things, the Augsburg Innovation Park , a planned research center for carbon fiber technology, is to provide appropriate impulses.
The direct economic use of the airfield takes place after the end of the scheduled traffic primarily through the upscale business air traffic, the training of traffic pilots by several flight schools at the airfield, as well as the maintenance, overhaul and servicing of aircraft with Augsburg Air Service (formerly Beechcraft Augsburg ), Airbus Helicopters MRO, Heli Aviation and Finest Care Interior, as well as the development of solar aircraft (Neowings and PC-Aero). Due to the convenient connection directly to the six-lane federal motorway A8, its technical equipment (ILS CAT I instrument landing system) and the construction of additional halls in the west of the field, the airfield developed as a real alternative for general aviation in the greater Munich area. Since April 1, 2011, the international aviation company Heli Aviation GmbH has relocated its headquarters from Wallerstein (Donau-Ries) to the Augsburg airfield, and in October 2012 the civilian MRO (Maintenance Repair and Overhaul) and service department of Airbus Helicopters was transferred to the Augsburg airfield relocated for an estimated 5 years until the company's own hangars in Donauwörth are completed. The statistical yearbook of the city of Augsburg provides information on the current occupancy.
Furnishing
Runway 25 has an instrument landing system (ILS) for approaches to all-weather flight operating level CAT I.
Airfield racing
From 1970 to 1991 there were a total of 22 motorcycle airfield races at the airport. The organizer was the Motorsport Club (MC) Augsburg. The most famous German driver was Toni Mang . The airfield course connected the runway and the taxiway.
Web links
- Augsburg Airport official website
- Aircraft noise - ( Federal Environment Agency )
- Initiative group against the airport expansion in Augsburg-Mühlhausen
Individual evidence
- ^ History of Augsburg Airport ( memento from January 25, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), queried on January 27, 2011
- ^ "Augsburger Allgemeine" from November 13, 2010: The history of the Augsburg airport
- ^ City of Augsburg: Statistical Yearbook of the City of Augsburg ( Memento from April 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ 60 years full throttle - Augsburger Allgemeine
.svg){kind=small}
