Every year millions of tourists arrive in Germany by air. German airports serve domestic flights, as well as send and receive aircraft from airlines from all over the world. Therefore, some of them have regional status, others - international.
General information about airports in Germany
Airports in Germany include not only civilian but also military runways and special-purpose airfields. Their activities are regulated by the authorized authority in charge of air traffic. The total number of civil airports in this country exceeds fifty.
Of particular importance are those air terminals that receive international flights from Lufthansa, Air Berlin and Aeroflot.
All airports have their own ICAO code, which indicates their ownership and location.
There are eight main international airports in Germany, and they are located in the following cities: Berlin, Nuremberg, Munich, Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, Hamburg, Bremen, Stuttgart.
Berlin is the main base of Air Berlin, for which there are as many as two terminals, and Frankfurt receives the largest number of people. The detailed location of the airports can be found on the map.
International airports
Airports of international importance accept not only direct flights, but also serve as important connecting hubs for passengers flying in transit.
Berlin airports
There are three airports in the capital: Tegel, Brandenburg, Schönefeld. Tegel named after Otto Lilienthal is the main operating airport not only in Berlin, but also in the country, which is located just 8 km from the center. It was opened in 1948.
Tegel has only four terminals, of which A is considered the largest and receives almost all international flights, and terminals B and C are reserved for Air Berlin. From here you can get to the United States, Cuba or any country in Europe. Detailed information and flight schedule can be found on the official website.
Schönefeld, the oldest airport in existence, is located in the town of the same name. It was founded in 1934. It has four terminals, and its passenger traffic is significantly lower than in Tegel.
Brandenburg is an airfield scheduled to open in 2021. It is located about 20 km from Berlin and after completion of construction, all air traffic will be transferred to its territory.
Airport in Dusseldorf
The airport in Dusseldorf, opened in 1927, has the reputation of being one of the largest in the country. The modern terminal complex was commissioned in 2001. The airport is located 9 km from Dusseldorf, its annual passenger traffic exceeds 20 million people.
The company's main docking point is Germanwings, the home hub of Eurowings. Lufthansa Airlines sends aircraft from it on long-haul flights.
Dusseldorf has three terminals, receives cargo and passenger planes, serves more than fifty airlines from all over the world, including Russian, Japanese, Arab and Chinese.
The official website is www.dus.com.
To find out more information about this airport, we advise you to read the article "Dusseldorf Airport".
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt am Main Airport, which is also known under another name - Rhine-Main Airport, annually receives more than 60 million people. It is in fourth place in the pan-European rating of congestion, serving the largest number of cargo flights.
Located 12 km from the center of Frankfurt am Main and is the main connection center for Lufthansa.
Founded in 1936, it has three terminals (one elite, two large) and four runways. You can travel between the terminals by monorail and a free bus for passengers with tickets.
One of the first to use an automated baggage sorting system, which is considered the most accurate. She works partly in Russian.
Official website: www.frankfurt-airport.com.
You can read more about the airport in the article "Frankfurt am Main Airport".
Hamburg airport
Belongs to the category of international and oldest in the country, it is located 9 km north of the central part of Hamburg. It was commissioned in 1911. The annual passenger traffic is over 12 million people. In 2021, the airport was renamed in honor of the German politician Helmut Schmidt.
In the early 90s, the old building of the terminal was reconstructed, now a city train line approaches it.
It has only two terminals and the same number of runways. The lanes are adapted to receive aircraft of any type, including Ruslans and Airbuses. Here, vehicles are painted before transferring them to airlines from manufacturers. It takes both regular and seasonal flights to such resort cities as Varna and Burgas.
Official website: www.hamburg-airport.de.
If this information was not enough for you, see the article “Hamburg Airport”.
Stuttgart airport
Formerly called Stuttgart Echterdingen, it was founded in 1939. It is the main airfield in Baden-Württemberg with an annual passenger turnover of more than 9 million people and the sixth largest airport in the country. It is an important docking station for the low-cost airlines TUIfly and Germanwings.
It is located just 10 km south of the city center and can be reached by three city train lines.
The airfield base is represented by four terminals, it was reconstructed several times (in 1996 and 2004). The maximum throughput of the air hub is up to 12 million travelers.
Due to the proximity to civilian settlements, there are restrictions on night flights from 00:00 to 04:00. In total, more than fifty foreign airlines fly here, a significant part of which are European.
Official website: www.stuttgart-airport.com.
Read more about the history and infrastructure of the airport in the publication “Stuttgart Airport”.
Airport in Hannover
Hanover Langenhagen was opened for use in 1952, 11 km north of the center of Hanover. The airport was created on the basis of military runways, as evidenced by the barracks that have survived to this day in its eastern part.
The airport is in ninth place in terms of importance within the country. The annual passenger traffic slightly exceeds 5.5 million people. From here the planes go to European cities as well as to Russia and Turkey.
The airport has four terminals, two of which are for international flights and two for domestic flights. Reconstruction of terminals A and B was carried out in 1973, according to their principle, Moscow Sheremetyevo was re-equipped.
Terminal C was rebuilt in 2021: eight boarding gates with telescopic ramps were added to it. Terminal D is dedicated to the needs of the British Air Force. You can get from the airport to Hanover by train or bus transfers.
Official website: www.hannover-airport.de
The article "Airport in Hanover" will tell you more about this terminal.
Bonn / Cologne airport
It was opened in 1938, serves two cities at once - Cologne and Bonn, which are located nearby. This airport, also known as Konrad Adenauer, is one of the few in the country that operates around the clock, and is the sixth busiest airport.
More than 12 million people receive it annually. It is in second place in servicing cargo flights after Frankfurt.
In the 1990s, a large-scale reconstruction and expansion of the building was carried out, resulting in a second terminal, a large number of parking spaces and a new commuter train station.
It is one of the main docking hubs for German low-cost airlines and Hungarian WizzAir.Most of the flights are carried out on a regular basis, some of them are seasonal: flights to Bulgaria and Turkey.
Official website: www.koeln-bonn-airport.de.
More information about Cologne Airport can be found in the article Bonn / Cologne Airport.
Airport Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden
It is located almost on the very border with France. Just like Bonn / Cologne, it is attached to two cities at once.
From the 1950s to the early 1990s, it was at the disposal of the Canadian military aviation, was bought by Germany for civilian needs in 1994. At the moment, it serves regular charter flights from different European countries, and is an important connecting point of the budget Ryanair company. The annual passenger traffic is just over 1 million passengers.
The airport has one terminal, in which three entrance gates are reserved for Schengen directions, and four others serve for passengers arriving from other countries. There is one more entrance gate, which is connected in case of significant passenger traffic.
Due to the low density of aircraft traffic and high technical equipment, training flights of young pilots are conducted on the basis of this airport.
Official website: www.baden-airpark.de.
For those who are interested in more detailed information, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the article "Airport Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden".
Regional airports
Airports of general civil importance include international and regional airports. Regional flights serve only local flights, and they are operated by non-state dispatching companies. The largest regional airport is Weeze, further on the list:
- Braunschweig / Wolfsburg;
- Dortmund;
- Karlsruhe / Baden-Baden;
- Kassel-Calden;
- Lubeck;
- Memmingen;
- Neubrandenburg;
- Frankfurt-Hahn;
- Heringsdorf;
- Zweibruecken;
- Stralsund-Barth.
Airports under construction or closed
The country is building only one airport - Berlin-Brandenburg. Its opening date was set for 2021, but due to incorrect budgeting and insufficient funding, work continues to this day. The construction budget during this period increased from 3 to 5 billion euros.
As for closed airfields, these include Cologne-Butzweilerhof (North Rhine, 1957), Munich-Rome (Bavaria, 1992), Berlin-Tempelhof (Brandenburg, 2008).
After the completion of the construction of Brandenburg, Berlin Tegel and Schönefeld will be added to the list of closed ones.
Airlines that fly to Germany
A significant proportion of the airlines flying to Germany are European: Belavia, Air Europa, SWISS, Onur Air, British Airways, Finnair, Pegasus Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Iberia, Alitalia, Czech Airlines.
Among foreign companies such giants as Aeroflot, Pobeda, MEA, Asiana Airlines, Turkish Airlines, EgyptAir, Emirates, El Al Israel Airlines, Korean Air should be singled out. As for local carriers, they are represented by Lufthansa, Air Berlin, Germanwings, Eurowings, Condor Flugdienst.
Conclusion
Airports in Germany are represented by both international and regional aviation hubs. Their number is about the same, but international airfields receive a much larger number of passengers than local air terminals. Check out the most convenient airports for connections and flights before planning your trip so that your trip is easy and comfortable.
