In terms of cargo traffic, as of 2019 the airport was the second-busiest in Germany after Frankfurt Airport, and the fifth-busiest in Europe, having handled 1,238,343 metric tonnes of cargo. It is Germany's 14th largest airport by passengers and handled more than 2.61 million passengers in 2019 mainly with flights to European leisure destinations. The airport serves as the main European hub for DHL Aviation and the main hub for AeroLogic. Military installations have also been built at the airport for NATO and EU military aircraft.[6]
History
The airport in 1929The airport's restaurant in 1931
Early years
The airport was built new from the ground up at a location between Halle and Leipzig from 1926 and opened in 1927.[7]
The airport structures were expanded in the 1930s, including a restaurant. A new terminal was added in 1936/1937, built in the then-widespread Nazi style. At the beginning of World War II, the airport was the fourth in the country for commercial traffic, with more than 40 takeoffs per day. This ended competely during the war, as the airport was entirely taken by the Luftwaffe and used only for military purposes. On April 16 1944, it was bombed and mostly destroyed by Allied planes.[7]
During the early years of the German Democratic Republic, the airport was rebuilt though used exclusively as an industrial airport. In 1957-1960 a new, 2500m-long runway was added as part of plans of commercial air traffic in the country, but traffic in Leipzig remained scarce. Starting from 1963, twice a year the airport was used as the seat of the Leipzig Trade Fair, with regular service from the state's flag carrier Interflug; the structures, however, were dismantled after the fair's end, and only in 1968 a more modern terminal was built. In 1972, for the first time, the airport operated for the whole year.[7]
On 18 March 1986, Air France flew a Concorde to the airport, to coincide with the Leipzig Trade Fair. Two days later British Airways also flew a Concorde to Leipzig/Halle.[citation needed] In the following years, both airlines operated Concorde flights from Paris and London when the trade fair was held in Leipzig. By 1988, traffic had doubled from 1972, reaching some 550,000 passengers per year. The terminal was enlarged including a new immigration hall, completed in 1984. The following year the departure hall was also upgraded.[7]
In 1991, after the Unification of Germany, the current Terminal A was modernized. In 1992 for the first time year's passengers reached 1,000,000. Works for a new Terminal B were completed in 1944, and a new 3,500m-long runway was added starting from 1998, being completed by 2003. A new control tower was inaugurated in 2000.[7]
Development since 2000
Despite its name, the airport is located in the town of Schkeuditz, Nordsachsen. A deal between the city of Leipzig and the Landkreis Delitzsch led to a land exchange. In 2007, Leipzig received land outside the airport while ownership of the airport land was transferred to Delitzsch. The District of Delitzsch, which by now has merged to become part of Landkreis Nordsachsen, owns and claims taxes from the grounds and commercial interest from the airport.[citation needed]
In early 2008, DHL Aviation moved its European hub from Brussels Airport to Leipzig/Halle, leading to a significant increase in cargo traffic at the airport. Leipzig bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games and the airport was modernised as a result, even though London was eventually awarded the games.[citation needed]
In spring 2013, Ryanair announced the start of operations to Leipzig/Halle on six routes. However, one year later all of them except the flights to London–Stansted were terminated.[8] In February 2015, Etihad Regional announced the immediate termination of all their Leipzig/Halle operations which had started only two years earlier, due to changes to their operational concept. All three routes were shut down while two newly announced ones did not start.[9]
In September 2016, Pakistan International Airlines announced plans to replace Manchester on their Islamabad - Manchester - New York City route with Leipzig/Halle in 2017 to lower operational costs and save time. As the airline holds Fifth Freedom rights, this would have been Leipzig/Halle's first passenger service to the United States.[10] In October 2017, the airline announced it would end all routes to the United States, so plans to use Leipzig as a layover to New York-JFK never came to be.[11]
In October 2016, DHL inaugurated a major expansion to its freight facilities at the airport. Two new cargo terminals increased handling capacity by 50 percent.[12]
As of April 2018, the largest passenger airline at Leipzig/Halle Airport measured by weekly departures is Condor with 55 outgoing flights per week. For this purpose, three Airbus A321 aircraft are stationed at the airport. The second-largest airline was Small Planet Airlines (Germany) with 18 outgoing flights per week. The airline stationed an Airbus A320 aircraft to serve several leisure destinations for TUI Group.[13] It was followed by SunExpress Deutschland which operated 15 weekly departures and stationed for this a Boeing 737 aircraft at the airport.[14][15]
In August 2018, DHL announced further expansion of its facilities at the airport. Beside an enlargement of the apron, a new pilot training center was also planned. The number of employees was to increase from 5700 to 6000.[16] At the same time, EAT Leipzig announced that they would add five used Airbus A330 freighters to their fleet, for a total of 36 aircraft.[17] Also in August 2018, the Russian Volga-Dnepr Group announced plans to launch a new German freight subsidiary based at the airport.[18][19] As of 2021, there were up to 170 nighttime take offs and landings for cargo operations.[20]
In 2018, the airport holding and DHL extended an agreement for the latter to maintain a freight hub in Leipzig/Halle until at least 2019.[21]
In October 2024, Ryanair announced the termination of all routes at three German airports including Leipzig/Halle, citing high operational costs.[22]
Facilities
Terminal
The modern airport terminal structure extends over the adjacent motorway and railway. It integrates the main car park as well as the check-in-facilities and is connected to a pier equipped with six jet bridges as well as several apron stands. Due to its compact design, it provides short walking distances. The airport terminal has immigration facilities for international flights but no international transfer area.
Runways
The airport has two runways. Terminal access is south of the railway. Runway 08L/26R runs parallel to the road north of the railway, requiring aircraft to taxi on a bridge over the tracks and roads.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Leipzig/Halle Airport:[23]
Some US airlines have flown to Leipzig/Halle on behalf of the US Department of Defense, to bring US Army troops and US Marines to Afghanistan and Iraq. Leipzig/Halle is used as a technical stop for refueling on these flights.[59] They do not appear at any official timetable. Marines and soldiers flown via Leipzig/Halle are listed as transit passengers in its traffic statistics. Military charter flights are also operated via Leipzig/Halle, e. g. on behalf of the NATO.[6]
Statistics
General plan of the airportConcourse connecting the check-in and airside areasCargo facilitiesControl towerTaxiway crossing the Autobahn
The airport is connected to two motorways: the A14 connecting to Dresden (130km), Halle (20km) and Magdeburg (130km), and the A9 connecting to Munich (430km), Nuremberg (280km), and Berlin (180km).
The airport's facilities have been featured in major films and TV shows during recent years:
In December 2004, Leipzig/Halle Airport was a filming location for Flightplan starring Jodie Foster and Peter Sarsgaard.[67] According to the film, Jodie Foster's flight departs from Berlin but all shots showing Berlin's supposed airport were actually taken at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
The airport's terminal and apron were featured heavily in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's live-action film Captain America: Civil War (2016). Branded equipment featuring the airport's logo was shown several times during the scenes.
The airport's hallway between the check-in area and the public departure/arrival area was featured in the Netflix series Inventing Anna, which tells the story of Anna Sorokin.[69] In the series, an American journalist flies to Berlin to conduct research on Anna's upbringing for her next article but all airport scenes were shot at Leipzig/Halle Airport.
Accidents and incidents
On 1 September 1975, Interflug Flight 1107 crashed on approach to the airport when the Tupolev TU-134 descended too quickly, not following the proper approach path, while the crew failed to monitor their altitude, leading to a CFIT. 27 of the 34 people on board perished.[70]
The airport is owned by the Mitteldeutsche Flughafen Holding AG, a state-owned enterprise. According to public records for 2005 to 2014, its operating losses totalled almost 570 million € and from 2000 to 2020 they were 800 million €.[20] The main reason for the losses have been take-off and landing fees, which do not cover operating costs. DHL has been profiting from these low prices; its particular subsidy DHL-Hub Leipzig GmbH does not publish its own figures, but as part of the DHL Express division, it has been making profits for many years, with 2.04 billion in 2019 alone.[20]
Residents in the Saale district have been complaining about the noise pollution for years and have been asking to adapt start and landing fees, pricing up night flights.[71][72]
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