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Luxembourg Airport

(Redirected from Findel Airport)
"ELLX" redirects here. For the London railway engineering project, see East London line extension.

Luxembourg Airport (IATA: LUX, ICAO: ELLX) is the main airport in Luxembourg. Previously called Luxembourg Findel Airport due to its location at Findel, it is Luxembourg's only international airport and is the only airport in the country with a paved runway. It is located 3.25 NM (6.02 km; 3.74 mi) east[1] of Luxembourg City. In 2019, it handled 4.4 million passengers.[3][4] It is a major cargo airport, ranking as Europe's fifth-busiest by cargo tonnage and the world's 28th-busiest in 2010. Luxair, Luxembourg's flag-carrier, and cargo airline Cargolux have their head offices on the airport property.[5][6]

Luxembourg Airport

Fluchhafe Lëtzebuerg

Aéroport de Luxembourg

Flughafen Luxemburg
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorSociété de l'Aéroport de Luxembourg S.A.
ServesLuxembourg City, Luxembourg
LocationSandweiler
Hub for
Elevation AMSL1,234 ft / 376 m
Coordinates49°37′24″N 006°12′16″E / 49.62333°N 6.20444°E / 49.62333; 6.20444
Websitelux-airport.lu
Maps
Airport diagram (2024)
Airport diagram (2024)
ELLX is located in Luxembourg
ELLX
ELLX
Location in Luxembourg
ELLX is located in Europe
ELLX
ELLX
ELLX (Europe)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 4,002 13,130 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers4 791 916
Cargo905'222 tons
Sources: Belgian AIP at Belgocontrol[1]
Statistics from Eurostat[2]

History

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Early years

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The airport was originally known as "Sandweiler Airport", and was opened in the 1930s as a small grass airfield with a relatively short, 3,400 ft (1,000 m) runway.[citation needed]

World War II

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Neutral Luxembourg was invaded by Germany on 10 May 1940, and on 21 May the Luftwaffe assigned Jagdgeschwader 53 (JG 53), a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter unit, to the airport. JG 53 was engaged in combat against the French and British Expeditionary Force in France during the Battle of France in May and June. In addition, Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) operated Bf 109s from Sandweiler during the Blitzkrieg. JG 52 moved into France on 29 May but JG 53 remained in Luxembourg until 18 August when it moved closer to the English Channel to take part in the Battle of Britain.[7]

Sandweiler Airport then remained unused by the Luftwaffe until September 1944, when Aufklärungsgruppe 123 (AKG 123), a reconnaissance unit which flew the Henschel Hs 126, a two-seat reconnaissance and observation aircraft, was assigned to the airport. AKG 123 moved east into Germany after only a few days when the United States Army moved through Luxembourg and cleared the country of the occupying German forces.[7]

Allied use

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United States Army combat engineers arrived at Sandweiler in mid September 1944 and performed some minor reconstruction to prepare the airfield for Ninth Air Force combat aircraft. The airfield was designated as Advanced Landing Ground "A-97" Sandweiler and was opened on 18 September 1944. The Ninth Air Force 363d Tactical Reconnaissance Group operated a variety of photo-reconnaissance aircraft until 29 October 1944 when they also moved east into Germany.[8][9]

Sandweiler Airport was used by the Americans for the rest of the war as a transport supply airfield and also to evacuate combat casualties to the UK. It was returned to Luxembourgish control on 15 August 1945.[10]

Present

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During the late 1960s and 1970s, Icelandair used Findel Airport as their European hub, connecting cities in North America with Europe at Luxembourg.[citation needed] In March 1999, Luxair launched direct flights to Newark using a Boeing 767.[11][12] The service lasted seven months.[13][14] In 2002, TAROM routed its flight from Bucharest to New York through Luxembourg in an attempt to increase the number of passengers.[15][16]

Luxembourg Airport has constructed a high-security zone far away from most airport activities in order to attract the business of transporting valuable goods such as art and jewels. According to Hiscox, there is a "massive demand" for such a hub for precious cargo. Planes taxi away from main airport facilities before loading.[17]

In 2015, the airline with the largest share of the airport's total passenger volume was still Luxair with 1.69 million passengers at a 63% share.[18] Luxembourg Airport was closed to all passenger traffic for a week from 23 March to 29 March 2020 as a public health measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19][20] In December 2023, China Southern Airlines began service to Zhengzhou.[21]

Terminals

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Terminal interior

Terminal A

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Built in 1975, the building was the only terminal of the airport for 30 years, until terminal B opened in 2004. The terminal was getting overcrowded especially during the summer period, and only contained four shops, a post office and a restaurant. The terminal started to be demolished at the end of 2011 and was complete by March 2012; this was to make way for a footbridge connecting terminal B to the new terminal A. Construction of the new Terminal A started in 2005 and it was inaugurated in May 2008.[22]

Terminal B

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Terminal B opened in 2004. The building is unique as it only has gates and no check-in counters or arrivals hall. It was built for small planes with a maximum capacity of 50 people. It can handle up to 600,000 passengers a year. The Terminal reopened in the summer of 2017 after some arrangements to handle aircraft with a capacity of up to 110 passengers and a total of 1 million passengers annually.[23]

Airlines and destinations

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Passenger

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The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Luxembourg Airport:[24]

AirlinesDestinations
Air Dolomiti Frankfurt[25]
Aegean Airlines Athens
British Airways London–Heathrow[26]
China Southern Airlines Guangzhou, Zhengzhou[27]
easyJet Lisbon, Milan–Malpensa, Naples (begins 9 December 2024),[28] Porto
GP Aviation[29]Seasonal charter: Pristina[30][31]
KLM Amsterdam[32]
LOT Polish Airlines Warsaw–Chopin
Lufthansa[33] Frankfurt, Munich
Luxair Bari,[34] Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Copenhagen, Djerba, Dublin, Faro,[34] Fuerteventura,[34] Funchal,[34] Geneva, Gran Canaria,[34] Hamburg, Hurghada,[34] Kraków, Lanzarote,[34] Lisbon, London–City, Madrid, Málaga,[34] Malta,[35] Manchester,[36] Marsa Alam,[34] Milan–Linate,[37] Milan–Malpensa, Montpellier, Munich, Nice, Oslo,[38] Palma de Mallorca,[34] Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Pescara,[39] Porto,[34] Prague, Rome–Fiumicino, Rotterdam,[40][41] Stockholm–Arlanda,[38] Tenerife–South,[34] Venice, Vienna
Seasonal: Agadir, Ajaccio,[34] Almería, Antalya,[34] Bastia, Belgrade, Biarritz, Boa Vista, Bordeaux, Brač,[42] Brindisi, Burgas, Cagliari, Calvi, Catania, Chania,[43] Corfu, Dakar–Diass,[44] Dubai–Al Maktoum,[34] Dubrovnik,[45] Enfidha, Figari, Florence, Heraklion,[34] Heringsdorf, Ibiza, İzmir,[43] Jerez de la Frontera, Kos, Lamezia Terme, Ljubljana,[46][47] Luxor (resumes 3 March 2025),[48] Marrakesh,[49] Menorca, Monastir, Mykonos,[50] Naples, Palermo, Praia,[51] Rhodes,[34] Rimini, Sal, Salzburg, Santorini,[50] São Vicente,[52] Sylt,[53] Thessaloniki, Tivat, Toulon, Valencia, Varna, Zadar[45]
RyanairBarcelona, Bergamo, Dublin, Lisbon, London–Stansted,[54] Madrid, Marseille, Porto
Seasonal: Faro,[55] Malta,[55] Palma de Mallorca, Seville, Toulouse[56][55]
Swiss International Air Lines Zürich[57]
TAP Air Portugal Lisbon, Porto
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Volotea Nice
Seasonal: Alicante

Cargo

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AirlinesDestinations
Cargolux[58][59] Almaty, Amman–Queen Alia, Amsterdam, Ashgabat, Atlanta, Bahrain, Baku, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Beijing–Capital, Bogotá, Budapest, Calgary, Chennai, Chicago–O'Hare, Columbus–Rickenbacker, Curitiba–Afonso Pena, Dallas/Fort Worth, Dammam, Doha, Dubai–International, Glasgow–Prestwick, Guadalajara, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Houston–Intercontinental, Huntsville, Indianapolis, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, Johannesburg–O.R. Tambo, Komatsu, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait City, London–Stansted, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami, Milan–Malpensa, Muscat, Nairobi–Kenyatta, New York–JFK, Quito, San Juan, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul–Incheon, Shanghai–Pudong, Shenzhen,[60] Singapore, Taipei–Taoyuan,Tokyo–Narita,Tbilisi, Vienna, Zhengzhou
China Airlines Cargo[61] Delhi, Dubai–International, Mumbai, Prague, Taipei–Taoyuan
Qatar Airways Cargo[62] Atlanta, Bogotá, Chicago–O'Hare, Doha, Mexico City, São Paulo–Guarulhos
Silk Way Airlines[63] Baku

Statistics

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Routes

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Busiest Routes from Luxembourg Airport (2019)
Rank Airport Passengers 2019
1   Porto Airport 339,505
2   Lisbon Airport 311,867
3   Munich Airport 216,312
4   Frankfurt Airport 202,300
5   Amsterdam Airport 184,711
Source:[64]

Passengers

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Annual passenger traffic at LUX airport. See Wikidata query.
Passengers [65]
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
6 525 55 591 476 938 670 159 1 072 264 1 267 640 1 669 484 1 573 825 1 630 027 1 919 694 2 467 864 3 022 918 4 036 878 4 416 038 1 425 715 2 002 903 4 055 900 4 791 916

Traffic

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Movements, freight and night flights [65]
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2019 2020
International movements 39 738 46 586 61 189 65 446 57 537 59 785 62 260 69 577 79 101 80 557 43 635
Local movements 22 976 24 912 24 322 24 211 22 957 21 378 21 962 16 825 15 485 14 428 21 066
Freight (kg) 142 956 417 286 380 935 499 910 851 742 341 598 705 079 728 614 904 815 708 077 753 801 807 232 894 648 866 853 354 139 905 222 594
Night flights 764 886 1 069 1 550 1 256 1 554 1 991 2145 1951 1420
Movements by airplane category [65]
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019 2020
0-2t Propeller 2 656 8 569 9 796 8 744 14 174 33 657 36 415 39 325 29 015 28 386 28 468 25 119 23 481 22 346 16 472 20 339
2-5t Propeller 338 136 313 1 553 982 1 794 1 802 1 549 1 919 2 028 1 955 5 834 5 158 4 167 3 932 5 170
>5t Propeller 608 2 688 4 016 6 853 7 927 6 945 7 554 12 266 18 043 22 660 19 536 7 581 11 034 14 817 21 862 9 173
Jet 390 2 952 6 683 8 833 9 271 13 737 16 588 35 552 51 123 40 821 43 701 52 719 30 020

Ground transportation

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The airport can be reached via autoroute A1 (Luxembourg City - Trier) and is also connected with the surrounding areas by public bus transport route 29 and 223, which also reaches Luxembourg railway station, and bus route 6 and 16, as well as by a cross-border coach service to nearby Trier in Germany.[66] It is planned that a tram line will reach the airport at the beginning of 2025.

Accidents and incidents

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  • On April 15, 2023, Cargolux Flight 7545, a Boeing 747-4HQFER registered as LX-ECV, suffered damage after a hard landing during a flight from Dubai's Al Maktoum International Airport. The airplane landed hard on its left wing, then did a go-around before landing, with damage to their number 2, or left wing's inner, engine. No one was injured in the incident.[72]
  • In May 2023, Cargolux Flight 6857, a Boeing 747-4R7F registered as LX-OCV, crash landed at the airport a short while after taking off; the landing gear would not retract after take off and the decision was made to land the aircraft. The main landing gear separated from the aircraft during landing.[73]

Claims of language discrimination

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In 2021, it was announced that public announcements in Luxembourgish (and in German as well) at Luxembourg Airport would cease after many decades of use; it would only be using French and English for future public announcements.[74] Actioun Lëtzebuergesch [lb] declared itself to be hugely upset by this new governmental measure, citing that other airports in the world seem to have no problems making public announcements in multiple languages; according to a poll conducted by AL, 92.84% of people in Luxembourg wished to have public announcements to be made in Luxembourgish at Luxembourg Airport.[75]

All written signs at Luxembourg Airport are only in French and English. This non-use of Luxembourgish and German (two official languages of Luxembourg) have fueled claims of linguistic discrimination, some pointing out that other airports seem to have no difficulties using up to 4 different languages in written signs. (Palma de Mallorca Airport for example uses Catalan, English, Spanish and German, the latter not even being an official language of the country)[76]

See also

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References

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  This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency

  1. ^ a b ELLX – LUXEMBOURG / Luxembourg (also PDF). Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) from AIM Belgium via skeyes.
  2. ^ "European Commission". Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  3. ^ "Luxembourg airport recorded passenger increase in 2019". Lux-Airport s.a. 21 January 2020.
  4. ^ "Luxembourg Airport - My Journey Starts Here". Luxembourg Airport. [permanent dead link‍]
  5. ^ "Legal." Luxair. Retrieved on 7 February 2011. "Luxair S.A. LuxairGroup Luxembourg Airport L-2987 Luxembourg."
  6. ^ "Network & Offices Luxembourg Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine." Cargolux. Retrieved on 15 May 2010. "Cargolux Head Office Luxembourg Airport L 2990 Luxembourg"
  7. ^ a b "The Luftwaffe, 1933-45". Ww2.dk. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  8. ^ "IX Engineer Command". Ixengineercommand.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  9. ^ Maurer, Maurer. Air Force Combat Units of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History, 1983. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.
  10. ^ Johnson, David C. (1988), U.S. Army Air Forces Continental Airfields (ETO), D-Day to V-E Day; Research Division, USAF Historical Research Center, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.
  11. ^ "Routes". Flight International. 30 March 1999. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  12. ^ Leney, Peter (26 June 1999). "Luxembourg: A world apart". The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Losses prompt Luxair to re-focus on Europe". Flight International. 5 March 2001. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Luxair to End Newark Flights" (Press release). Luxair. 12 July 1999. ProQuest 449642447.
  15. ^ "Routes". Flight International. 161 (4830): 12. 7 May 2002. EBSCOhost 6697266.
  16. ^ "Tarom nu mai zboara spre America, dar ramane la New York". Adevărul (in Romanian). 21 November 2003. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
  17. ^ Michaels, Daniel (19 February 2013). "Gunmen Waylay Jet, Swipe Diamond Trove". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  18. ^ "Air travel: lux-Airport expects 6 percent growth, new destinations in 2016". 8 January 2016. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
  19. ^ (in French) Le Findel ferme aux voyageurs dès lundi. L'Essentiel, 19 Mars 2020, [1]
  20. ^ "Covid-19 Faq". 9 September 2022.
  21. ^ "China Southern celebrates first flight from lux-Airport!". Luxembourg Airport. 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  22. ^ "The History of Luxembourg Airport". Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  23. ^ L'essentiel (26 May 2016). "Le terminal B du Findel rouvrira pour l'été 2017".
  24. ^ "Timetable - Flight Information - Luxembourg Airport". Lux-airport.lu. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  25. ^ https://www.airdolomiti.eu/ [bare URL]
  26. ^ "British Airways NW24 London Heathrow – Europe Frequency Changes – 26MAY24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  27. ^ "China Southern Plans Zhengzhou – Luxembourg Passenger Flight From late-Dec 2023". 12 November 2023.
  28. ^ "EasyJet annuncia 60 nuove rotte per la prossima stagione. 10 da e per l'Italia. 6 da Napoli". 11 June 2024.
  29. ^ "Prishtinaticket Schweiz AG".
  30. ^ https://www.gpaviation.eu/ [bare URL]
  31. ^ "GP Aviation NS24 Prishtina Network Additions". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
  32. ^ "KLM NS24 European Service Changes – 21JAN24". Aeroroutes.
  33. ^ "Air Dolomiti Expands Lufthansa Codeshare in NW24".
  34. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Luxair July – Oct 2023 737 MAX Network – 09APR23". Aeroroutes.
  35. ^ Orban, André (14 October 2022). "Luxair optimises its Winter flight schedule and introduces two additional destinations for next Summer season". www.aviation24.be. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  36. ^ "Luxair Resumes Manchester Service from April 2024". www.aeroroutes.com. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  37. ^ "Luxair's new destinations: Milan-Linate, la Palma, Praia".
  38. ^ a b "SAS Expands Luxair Codeshare Service From Sep 2022". Aeroroutes.
  39. ^ "Luxair Adds Pescara Service in late-March 2023". www.aeroroutes.com.
  40. ^ "Rotterdam - Netherlands".
  41. ^ "Luxair Adds Rotterdam Service From late-Oct 2024". Aeroroutes.
  42. ^ "EKSKLUZIVNO-NAJAVE: Luxair pokreće Luksemburg-Brač – zamaaero". Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  43. ^ a b "Luxair optimises its Winter flight schedule and introduces two additional destinations for next Summer season". www.aviation24.be. 14 October 2022.
  44. ^ "LUXAIR BEGINS LUXEMBOURG – DAKAR SERVICE FROM LATE-OCT 2022". www.aeroroutes.com. 20 October 2022.
  45. ^ a b "Luxair NS24 Croatia Service Increases". www.aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  46. ^ "Luxair to launch Ljubljana flights in September". 29 June 2023.
  47. ^ https://www.exyuaviation.com/2024/07/luxair-reduces-ljubljana-service-over.html
  48. ^ "LUXAIR RESUMES LUXEMBOURG – LUXOR NONSTOP SERVICE IN MAR 2025". aeroroutes.com. 23 August 2024.
  49. ^ "Twice a week: Luxair to offer flights to Marrakesh from February".
  50. ^ a b "Luxair NS23 Mykonos / Thira Service Changes". Aeroroutes.
  51. ^ "Luxair aumenta número de voos semanais para as ilhas de Cabo Verde". newsavia.com. 29 May 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  52. ^ "Luxair agenda voos directos para SV a partir de dezembro". 15 November 2021.
  53. ^ "Flüge von und nach Sylt: Neue Fluglinie verbindet die Nordseeinsel ab Mai mit Luxemburg | SHZ.de". 16 September 2021.
  54. ^ "Ryanair Moves Additional Routes to Ryanair UK in NS23". Aeroroutes.
  55. ^ a b c "Ryanair NW23 Network Changes – 17SEP23". www.aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  56. ^ "Rayanair Luxembourg to Toulouse". Ryanair.com.
  57. ^ "SWISS NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 27OCT24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  58. ^ cargolux.com - Network & Offices retrieved 6 March 2020
  59. ^ "Cargolux Schedule Worldwide May 2023" (PDF). Cargolux. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  60. ^ "Cargolux adds Shenzhen to its global network". 18 September 2020.
  61. ^ cargo.china-airlines.com - Our Network retrieved 6 March 2020
  62. ^ qrcargo.com - Route Network Archived 31 January 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 6 March 2020
  63. ^ silkway-airlines.com - Our Network Archived 2020-02-21 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 6 March 2020
  64. ^ "Database". Eurostat.
  65. ^ a b c "Air passenger transport by main airports in each reporting country". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  66. ^ lux-airport.lu - Getting to the airport retrieved 1 July 2022
  67. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  68. ^ Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Ilyushin 62M CCCP-86470 Luxembourg-Findel Airport (LUX)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  69. ^ aviation-safety.net retrieved 2 September 2020
  70. ^ Hradecky, Simon. "Incident: Cargolux B744 at Luxemburg on Jan 21st 2010, touched van on runway during landing". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  71. ^ "Final report on the collision between a Cargolux Boeing 747-400F registered LX-OCV and a maintenance van at Luxembourg Airport (ELLX) on 21 January 2010, 11:53 UTC" (PDF). Administration des Enquêtes Techniques. 10 December 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
  72. ^ "Incident Boeing 747-4HQF(ER) LX-ECV, Saturday 15 April 2023". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  73. ^ "Accident Boeing 747-4R7F LX-OCV, Sunday 14 May 2023". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  74. ^ "Findel airport: Public announcements no longer available in Luxembourgish". today.rtl.lu. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  75. ^ D’Sprooche vun den automateschen Ukënnegungen um Flughafe Findel, Actioun Lëtzebuergesch, 7 September 2021
  76. ^ Actioun Lëtzebuergesch: D’Sprooche vun den automateschen Ukënnegungen um Flughafe Findel, Guy Kaiser, September 8, 2021
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