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Lübeck Airport

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Lübeck Airport (IATA: LBC, ICAO: EDHL) is a minor German airport located 8 km (5.0 mi) south of Lübeck, the second-largest city in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, and 54 km (34 mi) northeast of Hamburg. It is the secondary airport for the Hamburg Metropolitan Region, after the much bigger Hamburg Airport,[3] and is used for domestic and some occasional charter flights. The airport was therefore sometimes called "Hamburg Lübeck" for marketing purposes.

Lübeck Airport

Flughafen Lübeck
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorStöcker Flughafen GmbH & Co. KG
ServesLübeck, Germany
Hub forLübeck Air
Elevation AMSL53 ft / 16 m
Coordinates53°48′19″N 010°43′09″E / 53.80528°N 10.71917°E / 53.80528; 10.71917
Websiteflughafen-luebeck.de
Map
EDHL is located in Schleswig-Holstein
EDHL
EDHL
Location of Lübeck Airport
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 2,102 6,896 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers82,590 Increase+133,4%
Aircraft movements23,089 Increase0-11,4%
Cargo (metric tons)00,000 Steady000,0%
Sources: Statistics at ADV.,[1]
AIP at German air traffic control.[2]

History

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Early years

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An Avro Lancaster during "Operation Exodus" with British ex-POWs at Lübeck Airport in 1945
 
A Douglas DC-3 operating out of Lübeck Airport during the Berlin Airlift
 
Runway view
 
Terminal exterior

The construction of the airport began in 1916 and was completed in 1917 when it started its operations as a military airfield. At the end of World War I the airfield was shut down. In 1933 it was re-opened and extended by the Luftwaffe. During the Berlin Blockade after World War II, the Royal Air Force flew coal to Berlin and refugees to West Germany using Douglas Dakota aircraft.

Units;

Development into a low-cost airport

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After the re-unification of Germany, the airport started to grow slightly when several airlines started flying to Lübeck. In 1997, the arrival terminal was re-constructed and extended.

Ryanair started to operate from the airport in 2000 with the first flights to London-Stansted. Ryanair's route system expanded over the years until 2009. Wizz Air started operations in 2006 with flights to Gdańsk, and later other eastern European destinations. Discussions about Ryanair opening a base at the airport were held since 2009 without results.[citation needed]

Infratil, an infrastructure investment company from New Zealand held a 90% shareholding from November 2005 until the end of October 2009, when it sold its shares back to the City of Lübeck.[56] The new principal operator, Flughafen Lübeck GmbH, had been searching for an investor since then, when in 2013 the airport was sold to a private investor.[57]

In 2010, both the financial crisis and the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull led to a general decrease in passenger numbers and destinations.

A new ILS CAT II system went operational in February 2014, allowing planes to operate at the airport in more difficult weather conditions.[58] As of March 2014, there were four lawsuits active against a further expansion of the airport.[57]

Bankruptcy

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On 23 April 2014 Lübeck Airport filed for bankruptcy.[59] A few days earlier it had been reported that the owner, which bought the airport in 2013, had pulled out again.[60] The airport continued to operate while the liquidator reviewed possible strategies.[61] In July 2014, the bankrupt airport was sold to Chinese investor PuRen Germany GmbH, a subsidiary of PuRen Group.[62]

In June 2014 Ryanair announced it would leave Lübeck Airport as of October 2014 due to the airport's uncertain future.[63] Soon this date was revised to July 2014, when the year-round route to Bergamo as well as the seasonal services to Palma de Mallorca and Pisa ceased. Meanwhile, Ryanair announced it would start new routes from Hamburg Airport instead.[64]

In September 2015, the airport's new owner, the German subsidiary of the Chinese PuRen Group, also declared bankruptcy. The state of Schleswig-Holstein had already announced it would not invest in the airport. New investors were sought and operations would be maintained until further notice.[65] As of January 2016, the selection process for a new owner of the airport was still ongoing.[66]

In March 2016, Wizz Air announced that it would cease all operations to and from Lübeck by 15 April 2016, leaving the airport without any scheduled passenger services. The routes to Gdańsk, Kyiv–Zhulyany and Skopje were relocated to Hamburg Airport,[67] while the flights to Riga as well as the newly established route to Sofia ceased without replacement. The last scheduled commercial flight, a Wizz Air service to Sofia, left Lübeck at 20:05 local time on 15 April 2016.[68]

Resumption of operations

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In January 2020, Lübeck Airport announced plans to start a virtual airline, with scheduled flights to Stuttgart and Munich from 1 June 2020. For this purpose, an ATR 72-500 was purchased, which is flown under the Lübeck Air brand and was then operated by Air Alsie. Flights eventually began on 17 August 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[69]

In March 2023, Lübeck Air announced it would end its ATR flights and seek to start jet operations with another airline. They also published a revised route network focusing on more leisure destinations, ending the route to Stuttgart Airport.[70] In September 2023, Lübeck Air announced to suspend all flights for the upcoming winter season, leaving Lübeck Airport without scheduled operations.[71] Later, Lübeck Air then confirmed it would not resume its own operations for the foreseeable future, depending on cooperation with other airlines from Lübeck Airport for 2024 instead.[72]

Facilities

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Lübeck Airport features one small terminal building, containing check-in facilities, a shop and some restaurants.[73] The apron features three stands for walk-boarding, which are suitable for mid-sized aircraft such as the Airbus A320, as well as some stands for smaller general aviation aircraft.

Airlines and destinations

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The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights at Lübeck Airport:[74]

AirlinesDestinations
Smartwings[75] Seasonal charter: Gran Canaria
Sundair[76] Seasonal: Corfu,[77] Heraklion, Kos,[78] Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes[78]

Statistics

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Annual passenger traffic at LBC airport. See Wikidata query.
Passengers
2000 184,622
2001   231,094
2002   270,188
2003   539,580
2004   598,777
2005   715,731
2006   677,638
2007   612,858
2008   534,509
2009   688,302
2010   537,835
2011   344,068
2012   359,974
2013   367,252
2014   168,593
Source: ADV,[79] Lübeck Airport[80]

Ground transportation

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Lübeck Airport station with a local train towards Kiel.

Car

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Lübeck Airport can be reached via motorways A1 which leads towards Hamburg and A20 which runs to the east through Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (exit Lübeck-Süd).

Bus

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The local bus line 6 runs every 30 minutes and connects the airport with Lübeck's main bus station ("ZOB").

Train

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Regional trains run every hour between Kiel and Lüneburg, stopping at the airport's own station Lübeck-Flughafen as well as Lübeck main station. Connecting trains are available at Lübeck Hauptbahnhof or in Büchen to Hamburg and other destinations.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ADV Monthly Traffic Report 12/2022" (PDF; 919 KB). adv.aero (in German). Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen e.V. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ "AIP VFR online". dfs.de. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  3. ^ Hamburg Lubeck Airport Guide – Hamburg Archived 15 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Travel-library.com. Retrieved on 23 May 2014.
  4. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 23.
  5. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 24.
  6. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 27.
  7. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 29.
  8. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 30.
  9. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 31.
  10. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 32.
  11. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 33.
  12. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 34.
  13. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 35.
  14. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 36.
  15. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 38.
  16. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 40.
  17. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 42.
  18. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 43.
  19. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 44.
  20. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 45.
  21. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 48.
  22. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 49.
  23. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 51.
  24. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 52.
  25. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 55.
  26. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 59.
  27. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 60.
  28. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 61.
  29. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 62.
  30. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 65.
  31. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 66.
  32. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 72.
  33. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 73.
  34. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 77.
  35. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 79.
  36. ^ a b Jefford 1988, p. 80.
  37. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 81.
  38. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 85.
  39. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 94.
  40. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 95.
  41. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 101.
  42. ^ Jefford 1988, p. 103.
  43. ^ "1302 Mobile Wing, RAF Regiment, formed Hurn April 1944; moved to St Croix Grand Tonne". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  44. ^ "1304 Mobile Wing, RAF Regiment, Tangmere; moved to St Croix sur Mer, France June 1944". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  45. ^ "RAF Regiment: No 1 Armoured Car Squadron Qastina, Ramleh, Sundern, Lubeck and Luneburg". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  46. ^ "RAF Regiment: No 20 L.A.A. Squadron, Buckeburg, Lubeck, Sundern, and Gutersloh". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  47. ^ "RAF Regiment: No 51 (Rifle) Squadron, Luneburg, Uetersen, Lubeck and Fassberg". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  48. ^ "RAF Regiment: No 61 (Rifle) Squadron, Lubeck, Buckeburg and Wahn". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  49. ^ "2710 Squadron, RAF Regiment, Valley (UK). Moved to Llanbedr 20 June 1942". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  50. ^ "2726 Squadron, RAF Regiment, formed Swinderby April 1942; moved to Hornchurch 2 June". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  51. ^ "2734 Field Squadron RAF Regiment, Redhill (UK); became Anti Aircraft squadron 17 May 1943". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  52. ^ "2781 Field Squadron RAF Regiment, Wyton (UK); moved to Redhill 27 March 1944". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  53. ^ "2806 (Armoured) Squadron RAF Regiment". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  54. ^ "2819 (Anti-Aircraft) Squadron RAF Regiment. Formed at Chelveston (Northamptonshire)". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  55. ^ "2829 Squadron RAF Regiment. Moved around various UK stations including Ford, Coolham". UK National Archives. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  56. ^ Sale of Lübeck Airport Archived 25 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  57. ^ a b Klage gegen Flughafenausbau in Lübeck beschäftigt bald Gericht. airliners.de. Retrieved on 23 May 2014.
  58. ^ ILS CAT II am Flughafen Lübeck erfolgreich in Betrieb gegangen. airliners.de. Retrieved on 23 May 2014.
  59. ^ (in German) Blankensee ist pleite: Nach Führungs-Chaos: Flughafen Lübeck insolvent – Wirtschafts-News – FOCUS Online – Nachrichten. Focus.de (23 April 2014). Retrieved on 23 May 2014.
  60. ^ (in German) Bruchlandung für Lübeck. shz.de. Retrieved on 23 May 2014.
  61. ^ Luftfahrt-Nachrichten und -Community. aero.de (25 April 2014). Retrieved on 23 May 2014.
  62. ^ "Neuer Chef des Lübecker Flughafens peilt eine Million Passagiere an". 11 July 2014.
  63. ^ "Text nicht mehr vorhanden".
  64. ^ "Ryanair wechselt von Lübeck nach Hamburg".
  65. ^ airliners.de - Betrieb am Flughafen Lübeck geht vorerst weiter (German) 2 October 2015
  66. ^ "Zukunft des Lübecker Flughafens weiterhin in der Schwebe".
  67. ^ aerotelegraph.com - "Lübeck loses all scheduled flights" 17 March 2016
  68. ^ "Letzter Linienflug ab Lübeck startet heute". 15 April 2016.
  69. ^ airliners.de (German) 22 July 2020
  70. ^ aviation.direct (German) 9 March 2023
  71. ^ airliners.de - "Lübeck Air temporarily suspends flight operations" (German) 28 September 2023
  72. ^ aerotelegraph.com (German) 28 December 2023
  73. ^ "Shops / Gastronomie - Flughafen Lübeck". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  74. ^ flughafen-luebeck.de - Schedules (German) 8 September 2021
  75. ^ From Lübeck to the Canaries with Smartwings Retrieved 2 March 2023. (in German)
  76. ^ "Sundair.com". sundair.com.
  77. ^ Flugplan Sundair Archived 23 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 7 December 2022. (in German)
  78. ^ a b "Sundair 2Q24 Lubeck – Greece Network Additions".
  79. ^ adv.aero
  80. ^ "Flughafen Lübeck - Jahresstatistiken 2000-2013" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2014.

Bibliography

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  • Jefford, C.G. (1988). RAF Squadrons. A comprehensive record of the movement and equipment of all RAF squadrons and their antecedents since 1912. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN 1-85310-053-6.
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  Media related to Lübeck Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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