Mannheim City Airport

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Mannheim City Airport
Flughafen Mannheim
IATA: MHG - ICAO: EDFM
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Rhein-Neckar Flugplatz GmbH
Serves Mannheim
Elevation AMSL 309 ft (94 m)
Coordinates 49°28′21″N, 08°30′51″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
09/27 3,497 1,066 Asphalt
09grass/27grass 2,297 700 Grass

Mannheim City Airport (IATA: MHG, ICAO: EDFM) (formerly Mannheim-Neuostheim) serves Mannheim, Germany. It is operated and administrated by Rhein-Neckar Flugplatz GmbH.

Contents

[edit] History

Aviation in Mannheim started with the airship constructors Schütte-Lanz in 1909. Their first airship, called SL 1, lifted-off from Mannheim-Rheinau in 1911. With the growing importance of airships for military purposes, a new airfield with hangars and barracks was opened in the north of Mannheim, where today the quarter of Schönau is located. Until the end of World War I, 22 airships were built in Mannheim. In 1922 all hangars had to be demolished, complying with the conditions imposed by the treaty of Versailles. The first commercial airport in Mannheim was founded on May 16, 1925 as Flughafen Mannheim-Heidelberg-Ludwigshafen in the northern district of Sandhofen. With its opening Mannheim became part of an important air track, running from north to south and viceversa. In the late 1920s and early 1930s there existed flights operated by Deutsche Aero Lloyd from Hamburg to Zurich stopping in Mannheim. Balair from Switzerland flew between Geneva and Amsterdam via Basel, Mannheim, Frankfurt and Essen. Badisch-Pfälzische Luftverkehrs A.G operated the black forest route to Konstanz, via Karlsruhe, Baden Baden and Villingen. In 1926 the airfield was transferred to Mannheim-Neuostheim, its present site. A Deutsche Luft Hansa route map of the 1930s shows scheduled flights to Frankfurt via Darmstadt, to Stuttgart, to Saarbrücken and to Konstanz via Karlsruhe, Baden-Baden and Freiburg. In 1939 Deutsche Luft Hansa flew nonstop to the capital Berlin using different Junkers aircraft. During World War II the airport was severely damaged. After the war the airport was occupied by US troops and temporarily used as a transmitter site. The terminal building and hangars were partly broken off and partly refurbished. The airfield was reopened to the public in 1958, but with the growing size of postwar aircraft, Mannheim-Neuostheim was no longer served by any major airline and mainly used for private flying. Limited scheduled passenger flights don´t start again until the 1980s, when Arcus-Air Logistic ran a short-lived service between Mannheim and Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, using Dornier Do 228 aircraft. These flights were operated up to three times daily, depending on demand. In 1997 Cosmos Air (Arcus-Air Logistic) was founded in Mannheim, which started nonstop flights to Tempelhof International Airport and London City Airport, using the larger Dornier Do 328 turboprop. Due to lack of demand, the London route was suspended after a year. By then, a provisional container building was used as terminal, until the new facilities opened in 1999. In the same year Cosmos Air was taken over by Cirrus Airlines, continuing the flights to Berlin and opening other new routes. With the entry of Cirrus Airlines into Team Lufthansa in 2000, the crane came back to Mannheim after 60 years of abcense. Cirrus Airlines left Team Lufthansa in 2004, and is now flying as official Lufthansa Partner, with Mannheim still appearing in the Lufthansa itinerary. Since 2002 Mannheim-Neuostheim officially carries the name Mannheim City Airport. In 2006, the airport celebrated its 80th birthday.

[edit] Location

The airport is located 3.5 km (2.2 mi) east of the city center in the district of Neuostheim.

It is surrounded by highways to the east (B38) and the west (A659), there is a power transmission line to the east and several high rise buildings to the west making Mannheim City a challenging airport. Because of its proximity to the city centre, there have been frequent discussions about relocating the airport to Coleman Airfield, allowing a possible growth. But these plans have been rejected after a new terminal building was erected at the present site. The airport has its own control zone, neighboring control zones are Heidelberg and Coleman.

[edit] Runways

The airport possesses two runways: one paved main runway (09/27) and a parallel grass runway (for gliding and ballooning only). The airport is in operation at day and night. The paved runway 09/27 offers PAPI and illumination in both directions, RWY 27 offers LLZ/DME approach, but no ILS, RWY 09 is usable under VFR only. A separate, illuminated and signposted taxiway is available. Aircraft up to 10,000 kg (22,046 lb) are allowed to land at the airport. Due to numerous obstacles around the airport and the short runways, Mannheim does not comply with IFALPA standards, thus it gets a very unsatisfactory "red star" every year from the German Airline Pilot’s Association (Vereinigung Cockpit), along with few other regional airports.

[edit] Terminal

The sand-lime brick designed terminal building, built by architect Prof. Peter Serini, opened in 1999. In its arched central section it offers two check-in counters, a security passenger checkpoint, a waiting area, two baggage claims a ticketing office and an electronic flight schedule. In addition it accommodates a snack-bar, airline offices, a police station and a flying school. The terminal is topped by a new control tower. On the airside, lucent blue capital letters form the word "Mannheim". A secured, partly free carpark is available. The tram lines 5 and 6 connect the airport with the city centre within 10 minutes. An electronic Lufthansa check-in counter was removed again, after the liquidation of Team Lufthansa. Since January, 2007 Cirrus Airlines passengers can check-in only 20 minutes prior scheduled departure.

[edit] Around the Terminal

Close to the current terminal, there are parts of the former terminal building, including the old tower, now used as a popular restaurant and biergarten (Lindbergh). Beside the old terminal a huge fitness club (Pfitzenmeier) opened its doors in 2000. A pilot shop (Friebe Luftfahrtbedarf) can be found next to the parking deck. A secured gate leads to the apron.

[edit] Air Traffic

The airport is mainly used for general aviation. Several local companies, such as Bauhaus and SAP have their business jets based at MHG. The aerodrome also serves as an important heliport for medical or VIP transports. 50% of all night movements are ambulance flights. DRF (Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht, e.V.) is present with ambulance helicopters (MBB-BK117, Kawasaki BK-117, MBB Bo-105CBS). Two flying schools (FTC Euroflight and LGM) and two Aero Clubs (Badisch Pfälzischer Flugsportverein and Segelflugverein Mannheim) are established at Mannheim City. There is glider activity during good weather. Business jets can be chartered by Cirrus Aviation, EAS (Executive Air Service) and ATB Flugdienst GmbH. The largest aircraft that ever landed at Mannheim City was a Transall of the German Air Force on a special flight in 1998.

[edit] Scheduled Services

There are seasonal flights to Heringsdorf connecting through Berlin Tempelhof International Airport. In the past Cirrus Airlines also operated scheduled flights to Dresden, Olbia and Kiel, the latter served by a Beech King Air.

[edit] Passenger Volume

The passenger volume ranged between 10.000 and 20.000 passengers per year from 1990 till 1997. With the opening of the new terminal, numbers increased, reaching a peak of 190.000 passengers per year in 2001. After 9/11 and the introduction of new regulations, passenger volume decreased rapidly to 86.000 in 2004 and dropped further down to 68.500 passengers in 2005.

[edit] Maintenance

Cirrus Technik operates a maintenance facility for Dornier Do 328 turboprop aircraft.

[edit] Ground Service

[edit] Frequencies

  • Coleman Approach: 130.5
  • Mannheim Tower: 118.400
  • Weather ATIS: 136.550

[edit] The Future

Due to its problematic geographical location, an extension of the airport is nearly impossible, avoiding up-to-date regional jets , like the Canadair Regional Jet or the Embraer 145, to operate from MHG. Beyond that, there already is a wide range of fast-growing and established airports in the region, thus Mannheim is well connected to world air traffic above-average, as listed below:

With the closure of the centrally located Tempelhof International Airport on October 31, 2008, Cirrus Airlines is loosing its most important destination ex MHG. The airline has announced that all flights to Berlin will be relocated to Tegel International Airport from that date on. With the introduction of the new JAR-OPS 2 regulation, strict weight restrictions have been imposed, allowing only smaller and lighter airplanes to land at MHG. Analyses by the Rhine-Neckar chamber of commerce say that new scheduled international connections to London City Airport or Vienna International Airport are thinkable in the next years. However, concerning business flights, Mannheim remains an attractive location, hence two new hangars for up to three jets are being built at present.

[edit] Incidents

  • September 11, 1982: a Chinook CH-47C helicopter of the U.S. Army crashes onto a highway during an airshow, killing 46 people.
  • August 4, 1993: after an engine failure, a Do-27 crashes into a garden plot right after take-off, four occupants die.
  • December 5, 1994: a Bell UH-1 helicopter of the German Army crashes into the nearby TV-tower at night, killing four occupants.
  • November 29, 1996: approaching MHG, a two-engined Piper crashes into a mountain near Dossenheim after a flight prom Prague.
  • February 21, 2002: A Beech B35 plane crashes into a garden plot after go-around, killing the pilot.

[edit] Gallery

the old terminal, now a biergarten, seen from the parking deck

Dornier Do 328 approaching runway 09

business jets parked on the apron

new terminal and TV-tower in the background

arched roof of the check-in area

Cirrus Airlines operates daily scheduled flights

several flying schools are established at MHG

large companies have their business jets based at MHG

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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