Frankfurt–Hahn Airport

Frankfurt–Hahn Airport Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn
IATA: HHN – ICAO: EDFH
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn GmbH
Serves	Rhineland-Palatinate
Location	Kirchberg, Germany
Focus city for	Ryanair
Elevation AMSL	1,649 ft / 503 m
Coordinates	49°56′54″N 007°15′51″E / 49.94833°N 7.26417°E / 49.94833; 7.26417Coordinates: 49°56′54″N 007°15′51″E / 49.94833°N 7.26417°E / 49.94833; 7.26417
Website	hahn-airport.de
Map
HHN Location of airport in Rhineland-Palatinate
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 03/21 12,467 3,800 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 2,665,105
Source:

Frankfurt–Hahn Airport (German: Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn, IATA: HHN, ICAO: EDFH) is a minor international airport located 10 km (6.2 mi) from the town of Kirchberg and 20 km (12 mi) from the town of Simmern in the Rhein-Hunsrück district of Rhineland-Palatinate to the west of central Germany.

Despite its name, the airport is virtually equidistant between Frankfurt and Luxembourg – about 120 km (75 mi) to each city by road. It is actually closer to the German cities of Koblenz at about 70 km (43 mi) and Mainz at about 90 km (56 mi). The addition of Frankfurt to its name, however, is not an invention of low-cost carriers as is the case with some other airports – Frankfurt-Hahn is the airport's official name as it positioned itself as an alternative to Frankfurt Airport for low-cost and cargo traffic. During the 2000s it was owned by Fraport, which also operates Frankfurt Airport.

History

Military past

During the Cold War the Airport was a frontline NATO facility known as Hahn Air Base, and home of the United States Air Force 50th Fighter Wing (in various designations) for most of those years as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It was one of several USAFE bases in Germany (Zweibrücken, Ramstein, Sembach, Bitburg, Spangdahlem, and Rhein-Main) all within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of each other. Beyond their location in the heart of US troop concentrations, these air bases were well situated to reach all locations within Europe and the Mediterranean region.

On 30 September 1993, most of Hahn Air Base was turned over to civil German authorities. The USAF retained a small portion as a communications site until 2012.^[1] It is still frequently used for military charters, these flights being operated by, amongst others, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

Development into a low-cost airport

The German government decided to turn the former airfield into a civil airport. One of the main investors in the development of the new Frankfurt–Hahn Airport was Fraport, which primarily runs Frankfurt Airport, the aim being to reduce the amount of traffic using that airport. However, in 2009 Fraport sold its 65% Frankfurt–Hahn shares for €1 including debt of €120 million to the federal state Rhineland-Palatinate.^[2]

Hahn charges its airline operators less than Frankfurt Airport which has made the airport popular with low-cost carriers, especially Ryanair which uses the airport as a major base.

The world record for heaviest single-piece of air cargo, a 189.98 metric tonne generator for a gas power plant in Armenia, was loaded on to a cargo flight departing from Hahn in 2009 using the Antonov 225.^[3]

In 2013, Etihad Cargo announced the relocation of their cargo operations from Hahn to Frankfurt Airport which caused a downturn for the airport as Etihad was one of the most important customers.^[4] Additionally, Ryanair cancelled and reduced capacity on several routes for summer 2014 as three of nine aircraft based at the airport were removed.^[5]

In January 2014 the airport announced it had accumulated debts of €125 million while passenger and cargo traffic were decreasing. The figures mean the airport could be closed within the next ten years. ^[6] As of March 2015, the owners, the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, have sought to sell the indebted airport.^[7]

Also in March 2015, Yangtze River Express announced they would to cease their cargo operations at Frankfurt–Hahn Airport in favour of Munich Airport. Frankfurt-Hahn lost its largest freight customer and four cargo destinations.^[8] Months earlier, Qatar Airways and Aeroflot had also ceased their cargo operations at the airport.^[7] By July 2015, the airport's freight numbers dropped by 36 percent.^[9]

Infrastructure

Terminals

Check-in area

The airport consists of one passenger and one cargo terminal. The passenger terminal is equipped with some shops and restaurants, for example a branch of McDonald's.^[10] The apron features eleven stands for mid-sized aircraft such as the Boeing 737 which are reached on foot. The cargo apron has three stands for large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-8F.

Runway

Frankfurt–Hahn has a long runway of 3,800 metres (12,467 ft) in the direction of 03/21. This combined with a large apron allows it to handle some of the world's biggest aircraft such as the Antonov An-124 or the Boeing 747 Large Cargo Freighter, both types being frequent visitors. It has an Instrument Landing System available to both sides, with runway 21 being category 3 approved; low visibility conditions are a frequent problem at the airport, especially during autumn and winter.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Frankfurt–Hahn Airport:^[11]

Cargo

Statistics

Overview of the cargo apron at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport

	Passengers
2004	2,751,585
2005	3,076,823
2006	3,704,633
2007	4,014,898
2008	3,940,159
2009	3,793,710
2010	3,493,451
2011	2,894,109
2012	2,790,961
2013	2,667,402
2014	2,447,140
2015[14]	2,667,000
Source: ADV[15]

Ground transportation

Frankfurt–Hahn Airport is almost equidistant from Frankfurt and Luxembourg. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (Frankfurt main railway station) is 123 km from the airport and Gare Centrale Luxembourg (Luxembourg central railway station) is 118 km from the airport.^[16]

Coach

Hahn is served by a number of (mostly private) coach operators that run regular services to Frankfurt am Main (1 h 45 min, via Frankfurt Airport, Terminal 2), Cologne (2 h 15 min), Luxembourg (1 h 45 min) and a number of other cities in western Germany and the region.

Rail

The airport has no railway station (it used to have a freight railway connection). The nearest train station is in Traben-Trarbach (20 km by road, 10 km as the crow flies), the terminus of the Pünderich–Traben-Trarbach railway. The nearest long-distance railway stations are Bullay (15 km to the NW, on the Koblenz–Trier–Saarbrücken line), and Idar-Oberstein (26 km south), Kirn (22 km SE) and Bad Sobernheim (30 km SE), all on the Mainz–Bad Kreuznach–Saarbrücken line. Frequent buses also run to the main railway station of nearby cities, the closest being Mainz (1 h 10 min, 60 km or 37 mi to the east) and Koblenz (1 h 5 min, 50 km NE).

Car

Hahn has reasonable road connections. The nearest Autobahn connections are approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) to the west (A1) or east (A 61). Parking and car rental are available at the airport.

Other facilities

The head office of AirIT Services AG, a subsidiary of Fraport, is in Building 663 at Hahn Airport.^[17]

See also

• Transport in Germany
• List of airports in Germany

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Active Air Force Bases Within the United States of America on 17 September 1982 USAF Reference Series, Office of Air Force History, United States Air Force, Washington, D.C., 1989
• Endicott, Judy G., USAF Active Flying, Space, and Missile Squadrons as of 1 October 1995. Office of Air Force History
• Fletcher, Harry R., Air Force Bases Volume II, Active Air Force Bases outside the United States of America on 17 September 1982, Office of Air Force History, 1989

External links

Media related to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Current weather for EDFH at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for HHN at Aviation Safety Network

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