Zweibrücken Airport (IATA: ZQW, ICAO: EDRZ), or Flughafen Zweibrücken in German, is a regional airport and former minor international airport in Zweibrücken, Germany. It was the smaller of the two passenger airports in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the other being Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. Zweibrücken currently only features general aviation, since scheduled air services ceased in November 2014 due to the airport's financial difficulties.[3]
Zweibrücken Airport Flughafen Zweibrücken | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | General Aviation | ||||||||||
| Serves | Zweibrücken, Germany | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 1,133 ft / 345 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 49°12′34″N 07°24′02″E / 49.20944°N 7.40056°E | ||||||||||
| Website | edrz-airport.de | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  ZQW Location of airport in Rhineland-Palatinate  ZQW ZQW (Germany)  ZQW ZQW (Europe) | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2013) | |||||||||||
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History
editDevelopment into a civil airport
editZweibrücken Airport is located on the site of the former Zweibrücken Air Base which was closed in 1991 following the end of Operation Desert Storm. The former site was reopened as a converted commercial airport on 1 September 1994.[4]
In 2006, Germanwings began twice-daily service to Berlin Schönefeld Airport, but ceased them in 2011 due to expensive airports taxes. The airport also used to have regular scheduled service operated by Ryanair to London Stansted Airport. The service was announced on 27 May 2008, but ceased already one year later in May 2009. 264,247 passengers used the airport in 2010, decreasing to 242,880 passengers in 2012.[5]
A twice per week service was operated between Zweibrücken and Antalya by Sky Airlines until the airline ceased operations due to financial problems in 2013. These flights were replaced by Atlasjet during summer 2013 season, and were taken over by Freebird Airlines for summer 2014. On 3 November 2013, Air Berlin stopped its weekly summer seasonal route to Palma de Mallorca on behalf of TUI, and were replaced by TUIfly and Germania for the 2014 summer season. In July 2014, TUIfly inaugurated the new seasonal route to Ankara, the airport's third destination in Turkey after Antalya and Istanbul. TUIfly operated eight routes out of Zweibrücken Airport, making it one of their focus cities.
Bankruptcy
editIn July 2014, it was reported that the European Commission decided that up to 56 million Euros of subsidies for the airport were illegal and needed to be paid back.[6] Due to this decision, on 24 July, Zweibrücken Airport filed for bankruptcy.[7] One of the reasons for the Commission's decision is the close proximity to Saarbrücken Airport, which exists much longer.[8]
While it was planned to keep the airport operating for general aviation operations,[8] all commercial passenger operations were expected to cease by the end of the 2014 summer schedule.[8][9] TUIfly decided to provide financial support for the airport to guarantee uninterrupted operations until the end of their summer schedule in November 2014.
However, in September 2014, TUIfly announced the closure of their Zweibrücken base as of 8 November 2014. As a replacement, several of their eight scheduled leisure routes, for example to Palma de Mallorca and Gran Canaria, will be relocated to nearby Saarbrücken Airport.[10][11] Additionally, Pegasus Airlines' scheduled seasonal service to Istanbul ceased by 29 September 2014 without resumption in 2015.[12] The few other remaining summer seasonal charter flights, for example those of Air VIA to Burgas, moved to Saarbrücken for the 2015 summer season as well.
The last scheduled flight took off from Zweibrücken at 13:40 p.m. on 3 November to Fuerteventura, also remaining as the last TUIfly operation at the airport and marking the closure of its focus city. Since that day, all scheduled operations at the airport ceased for the then upcoming entire winter season while most of the staff has been laid off due to a lack of funding to keep operations running.[3]
Facilities
editZweibrücken Airport features a small terminal building equipped with three aircraft stands next to it. As there are no jet bridges, walk-boarding is used. Before bankruptcy, the airport could handle mid-sized aircraft such as the Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 family.
Airlines and destinations
editAll scheduled operations at Zweibrücken Airport ceased by 3 November 2014 due to a lack of funding for the upcoming winter season.[3] The airport used to feature scheduled and charter flights to leisure destinations around the Mediterranean. There was no resumption of services for the 2015 summer season as all former airlines at Zweibrücken either terminated their services to the area, such as Pegasus Airlines, or relocated their routes to Saarbrücken instead.
The nearest other minor international airport is Saarbrücken Airport, approximately 40 km (25 mi) away.
Statistics
edit
| Number of passengers | ||||
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| 2006 | 78,000 | |||
| 2007 |  288,000
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| 2008 | 327,000
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| 2009 | 338,000
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| 2010 |  265,000
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| 2011 | 224,000
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| 2012 | 242,880
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| 2013 | 220,740
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| Source: Zweibrücken Airport | ||||
Ground transportation
editZweibrücken Airport is only accessible by road. It can be reached via motorway A8 (exit Contwig, Flughafen, Bitche (F)) which leads to Saarbrücken and Luxembourg and from France directly via federal highway L700.[13] Additionally, the local bus route 226 connects the airport with Zweibrücken city centre including Zweibrücken station.[13]
Zweibrücken Circuit
edit Touring Car Circuit (1996–1999) | |
| Location | Zweibrücken, Rhineland-Palatinate |
|---|---|
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) CEST (DST) |
| Opened | 9 August 1996 |
| Closed | 23 May 1999 |
| Major events | Super Tourenwagen Cup (1996–1999) German F3 (1997–1999) Pro Superbike (1997–1998) Porsche Carrera Cup Germany (1997, 1999) |
| Website | https://www.edrz-airport.de/ |
| Touring Car Circuit (1996–1999) | |
| Length | 2.800 km (1.739 miles) |
| Turns | 7 |
| Race lap record | 1:01.438 ( Robert Lechner, Dallara F399, 1999, F3) |
| Motorcycle Circuit (1998) | |
| Length | 2.900 km (1.802 miles) |
| Turns | 8 |
| Race lap record | 1:09.333 ( Jochen Schmid, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7R, 1998, SBK) |
| Motorcycle Circuit (1997) | |
| Length | 4.350 km (2.799 miles) |
| Turns | 15 |
| Race lap record | 1:26.855 ( Gregorio Lavilla, Ducati 916 SBK, 1997, SBK) |
From 1996 to 1999, the airport held various Super Tourenwagen Cup, German F3, VW Beetle Cup[14] and Pro Superbike[15] races but stopped hosting national championships due to financial reasons.[16]
The track has hosted the Historisches Flugplatzrennen, a historic car track day event, as recently as September 3rd 2023.[17]
Lap records
editThe fastest official race lap records at the Zweibrücken Air Base Circuit are listed as:
| Category | Time | Driver | Vehicle | Event | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touring Car Circuit: 2.800km (1996–1999)[16][18][19] | |||||
| F3 | 1:01.438[20] | Robert Lechner | Dallara F399 | 1999 Zweibrücken German F3 round | 23 May 1999 |
| Super Touring | 1:03.361[21] | Emanuele Pirro | Audi A4 STW | 1996 Zweibrücken STW round | 11 August 1996 |
| Motorcycle Circuit: 2.900km (1998)[22] | |||||
| Superbike | 1:09.333[22] | Jochen Schmid | Kawasaki Ninja ZX-7R | 1998 Zweibrücken Pro-Superbike round | 26 April 1998 |
| Motorcycle Circuit: 4.350km (1997)[23][24] | |||||
| Superbike | 1:26.855[24] | Gregorio Lavilla | Ducati 916 SBK | 1997 Zweibrücken Pro-Superbike round | 20 April 1997 |
See also
edit- Transport in Germany
- List of airports in Germany
- Flugplatz Mainz-Finthen, another German airport with a previously used racetrack
References
edit- ^ "Zweibrücken mit deutlichem Passagierrückgang". aero.de. Jan 10, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "AIP VFR online". dfs.de. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
- ^ a b c "Flughafen Zweibrücken droht das endgültige Aus". aero.de. Oct 31, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "Welcome to the Zweibrücken AB Page". USAFGermany. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
- ^ "20 Prozent weniger Passagiere". Archived from the original on Jul 19, 2011. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ SPIEGEL, DER (22 July 2014). "Flughafen Zweibrücken droht Insolvenz - kurz vor der Pleite - DER SPIEGEL - Wirtschaft". Der Spiegel. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "Insolvenzantrag für Flughafen Zweibrücken gestellt". aero.de. Jul 24, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Flughafen Zweibrücken stellt Insolvenzantrag". airliners.de. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "Alle Meldungen des Livetickers - Nachrichten | SWR.de". www.swr.de. Archived from the original on 2014-07-22.
- ^ "Turistik Aktuell". www.touristik-aktuell.de. Apr 23, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ "Germany's TUIfly to close Zweibrücken base in November". ch-aviation. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
- ^ https://book.flypgs.com/Common/ScheduledFlightList.jsp?activeLanguage=DE& [better source needed]
- ^ a b flughafen-zweibrücken.de - Ihr Weg zu uns Archived December 13, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "1999 ADAC VW New Beetle Cup - Zweibrucken - YouTube". YouTube. 10 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- ^ "1998 Pro-Superbike Zweibrücken - Christer Lindholm hates backmarkers - YouTube". YouTube. 24 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- ^ a b "Pirro - Zweibruecken". www.pirro.com. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
- ^ "Historisches Flugplatzrennen Zweibrücken 2020 - 26./27.September". Historisches Flugplatzrennen Zweibrücken – für Rennwagen, Oldtimer, Seitenwagen sowie Motorräder (in German). Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ^ "Zweibrücken - Touring Car Circuit (1996-1999)". fastlane.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "Zweibrucken Racing Circuit • Details | Motorsport Database". Motor Sport Magazine. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ "1999 ADAC Preis Zweibrücken 4. Lauf Deustche Formel 3 Mesiterschaft" (PDF). 23 May 1999. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "STW Cup 1996 » Zweibrücken Round 12 Results". 11 August 1996. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ a b "1998-04-25 to 1998-04-26 International Pro-Superbike Championship Race 2". 26 April 1998. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
- ^ "Zweibrücken - Motorcycle Circuit (1997)". fastlane.co.uk. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
- ^ a b "1997-04-19 to 1997-04-20 International Pro-Superbike Championship Race 2". 20 April 1997. Retrieved 11 April 2024.
External links
edit
Media related to Zweibrücken Airport at Wikimedia Commons
