Graz Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Graz Airport
Flughafen Graz-Thalerhof
IATA: GRZ - ICAO: LOWG
Summary
Airport type Public
Serves Graz
Elevation AMSL  ft (337 m)
Coordinates 46°59′37″N, 15°26′24″E
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17L/35R 2,100 640 Grass
17C/35C 9,842 3,000 Asphalt
17R/35L 2,493 760 Grass

Graz Airport (IATA: GRZ, ICAO: LOWG), also known as Thalerhof, serves Graz, Austria.

Contents

[edit] Location and runways

  • Location: 46°59´37"N 15°26´24"E
  • Altitude: 337 m
  • Runway: 17/35 (HDG 348), 3000x45 m, Asphalt

[edit] Transportation

The airport is within walking distance of Flughafen Graz-Feldkirchen railway station (about 4 minutes on foot, exit to the right of the platform), which lies on the Graz to Spielfeld-Straß line. The travel time to the airport from Graz main station is approximately 12 minutes by regional train.

[edit] Airport history

The construction of the airport began in 1913 with the construction of a grass runway and the first hangars; the airport saw its first flight in 1914. The first passenger domestic flight in Austria, in 1925, serviced the route Vienna-Graz-Klagenfurt. In 1937, the construction of a terminal building began due to increase in the number of passengers.

After the end of the Second World War, however, Austria was forbidden to possess an aviation fleet, either military or civil. After reopening of Austrian airspace in 1951, a new concrete runway of 1500m was built in Graz. This runway was extended to 2000m in 1962. The route network grew quickly and the first international scheduled flight started in 1966 with a connection to Frankfurt. In 1969, the runway was again extended, this time to 2500m, and construction of a new, more modern terminal building became necessary. Special highlights of the airport were the landings of the Concorde in 1981 and the Boeing 747 on the occasion of its 70th anniversary of opening in 1984. Ten years later, another new building was constructed with a capacity of maximum 750,000 passengers per year. The latest extension of the runway was to 3000m in 1998.

In early 21st century, the number of passengers exceeded the 750,000-mark and in 2004 is just below 900,000. This led to the final extension of the current terminal building in 2003 and the construction of a second terminal in 2005.

[edit] Scheduled Summer 2008

[edit] Charter flight summer 2008

[edit] External links