Graz Airport

Graz Airport Flughafen Graz
IATA: GRZ – ICAO: LOWG GRZ Location of airport in Austria
Summary
Airport type		Public
Owner		Grazer Stadwerke AG
Operator		Flughafen Graz Betriebs GmbH
Serves		Graz, Austria and Maribor, Slovenia
Location		Feldkirchen, Kalsdorf
Elevation AMSL		340 m / 1,115 ft
Coordinates		46°59′35″N 015°26′21″E / 46.99306°N 15.43917°E / 46.99306; 15.43917 (Graz Airport)Coordinates: 46°59′35″N 015°26′21″E / 46.99306°N 15.43917°E / 46.99306; 15.43917 (Graz Airport)
Website		airport-graz.com
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
17L/35R	640	2,100	Grass
17C/35C	3,000	9,842	Asphalt
17R/35L	760	2,493	Grass
Source: Austrian AIP at EUROCONTROL[1]

Graz Airport (IATA: GRZ, ICAO: LOWG), known as Flughafen Graz-Thalerhof in German, is a minor international airport in Graz, the second-largest city in Austria. It is located in the municipalities of Feldkirchen and Kalsdorf, 5 NM (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) south^[1] of Graz city centre and mainly serves flights to European leisure and some metropolitan destinations.

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. It was the site of the concentration camp, Talerhof, run by the governments of Franz Joseph I of Austria and Charles I of Austria. 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 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) was built in Graz. This runway was extended to 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) 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 2,500 metres (8,202 ft), 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 3,000 metres (9,843 ft) 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. Total passenger traffic numbers for the year 2012 were 930,617.

Facilities

Graz Airport consists of one modern passenger terminal building which features some shops, restaurants and service counters. The apron provides stands for aircraft up to the size of a Boeing 747. As there are no jet bridges, busses are used for boarding.

Airlines and destinations

Aerial overview of Graz Airport

Ground transportation

Train

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.

Car

Graz Airport is also reachable via motorways A9 (Exit Kalsdorf) and A2 (Exit Flughafen Graz/Feldkirchen).

See also

• Transport in Austria
• List of airports in Austria

References

External links

Media related to Graz Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Current weather for LOWG at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for GRZ at Aviation Safety Network

v t e Airports in Austria Major international Vienna Minor international Graz Innsbruck Klagenfurt Linz Salzburg Unscheduled Bad Vöslau Hohenems-Dornbirn