Nuremberg Airport

The first Lufthansa Boeing 747-100 visits Nuremberg in 1970

Aerial shot from the mid-1980s

Nuremberg Airport was the first airport constructed in Germany after World War II. It was inaugurated on 6 April 1955.

In 1960, the number of passengers at Nuremberg Airport reached 100,000 for the first time. In 1961 the runway was extended from 1,900 to 2,300 metres (7,500 ft), and in 1968 the runway was extended to its present length of 2,700 metres (8,900 ft), allowing jumbo jets to use it. On 12 July 1970, a Boeing 747 landed at the airport for the first time and attracted 20,000 visitors.

The apron was enlarged in 1977 and in 1981 a new passenger terminal with an observation deck and a restaurant replaced the previous building. In December 1986, the one million passenger mark was passed for the first time.

In 1997/98, Air Berlin established a winter hub at the airport, making it the airline's second most important tourist interchange airport, after Palma de Mallorca.

The new control tower commenced operations in 1999 and the metro station was opened. In 2002, departure hall 2 was extended and a year later the cargo centre CCN2 with 6,500 m² (70,000 sq ft) of storage space and 4,600 m² (50,000 sq ft) of office space was inaugurated after one and a half years' construction. In 2005 Nuremberg Airport celebrated its 50th anniversary with 45,000 visitors. The new transfer control terminal with a floor space of 8,500 m² (91,000 sq ft) and a new main gate (Tor 1) were completed a year later in 2006. In addition, a fully automatic luggage sorting system was put into operation.

Nuremberg Airport has been voted "Best German Airport" by readers of the Business Traveller magazine consecutively since 2008.[5]

In April 2013 Air Berlin permanently shut down its winter seasonal hub in Nuremberg which had been maintained for several years.[6]

In December 2014 the airport was named after Albrecht Dürer, who was born in Nuremberg.[7]

In October 2016, Ryanair announced it would open a base at Nuremberg Airport consisting of two aircraft while four additional routes were inaugurated.[8] In the same month, Air Berlin announced it would close its maintenance facilities at the airport due to cost cutting and restructuring measures.[9] Shortly after, Germania announced it would open a new base at Nuremberg Airport consisting of one aircraft which served several new leisure routes.[10] 2017 saw the bankruptcy of Air Berlin ending a trend of Air Berlin withdrawing service from the airport with the grounding of all Air Berlin flights. In January 2018, Eurowings announced it would establish a base at the airport consisting of one aircraft and four new routes as well as increased frequencies.[1] After the demise of Germania in early 2019, TUI fly Deutschland announced it would base aircraft in Nuremberg to take over several leisure destinations.[11] In late 2019 Ryanair announced the closure of their base in Nuremberg effective with the end of the winter schedule.[12]

The runway 10/28 is 2,700 by 45 m (8,858 by 148 ft).[3] Takeoff and landing of all current aircraft, including widebody aircraft (e.g. Boeing 747) or cargo planes (e.g. Antonov An-124 Ruslan) are possible. However, Nuremberg Airport is not licensed for the Airbus A380. Starting in July 2009, the runway was refurbished gradually in several phases. The surfaces of the runway and taxiways were renovated using the latest technology. A new flare-path, drainage channels and a new electric ring surrounding the entire runway were added. In 2010, the runway was shortened to 2,300 m (7,500 ft) temporarily to allow construction to continue. In 2011, work on the centerpiece of the runway began. The work was completed in 2015.

The apron is 246,845 m² (2,657,020 sq ft) in space and provides parking positions for 37 planes.

Apron overview

Check-in area

Departure area

The passenger terminal consists of two departure halls and one arrival hall which are all linked landside and airside. The check-in area features 40 desks.[13] In December 2015 the new security control between departure halls 1 and 2 on the ground floor opened, replacing earlier facilities upstairs in hall 2 as machines had gotten too heavy.[14]

The extension of departure hall 2 was inaugurated on 30 April 1992 and was originally dimensioned for 2.8 million passengers per year. Now there is room for 5 million passengers per year. Daylight dominates the transparent construction made of steel and glass drafted by Nuremberg architects Grabow and Hoffmann. The construction phase took three years and cost about 100 million Deutsche Mark. The extension of the apron was included in the building costs as well as three modern air bridges. Today, there are four finger docks available.

On 25 January 2007 the newest addition, the Transfer-Control-Terminal (TCT) was opened. It not only serves as a capacity extension but it also allows for new legislation concerning security measures: since EU Regulation 2320/2002 airports have to make sure that non-EU passengers are controlled before continuing their trip to countries of the European Union and don't get mixed up with passengers who have already been checked. There is a second security control for the stricter security procedures for flights to Israel inside the TCT when fights to Israel operate.

In 1987, Cargo Center Nuremberg (CCN) was put into operation.[15] When the Cold War ended and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Nuremberg won back its central location in Europe. As a consequence Nuremberg Airport and air freight quickly gained in importance in the 1990s.

Nuremberg is also the economic and service metropolis of Franconia with approximately 150,000 companies and enterprises taking advantage of the locality of Nuremberg as a traffic junction of highways and railroads. The region's export share of 42% is remarkably high and above German average. In addition, several headquarters of internationally operating companies are located in the region, for example Siemens, Adidas, Bosch, Puma and Faber-Castell.

Due to the positive trend, Cargo Center II (CCN II) was built in 2003.[15] Today, almost 13,317 m² (143,340 sq ft) storage space and 7,000 m² (75,000 sq ft) of office space is available at Nuremberg Airport. 107,123 tons of cargo were handled in 2010.

Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS), which is in charge of air traffic control in Germany, moved into the 48-metre-high (157 ft) tower in November 1998. The control tower at Nuremberg Airport was designed by architect Günther Behnisch and has become the architectural landmark of the airport with its dynamic silhouette. It was built because the original control tower was only 18 meters high. The project cost approximately 30 million Deutsche Mark.

There are about 8,000 car parking spaces at Nuremberg Airport. Apart from three car parks, there are various parking lots in close vicinity to the terminals. The newest facility is car park P3 with seven levels and 2,200 parking spaces. There are different tariffs to choose from, for example "BusinessParken" (business parking) or "UrlauberParken" (holiday parking).[16] Nuremberg Airport also offers valet parking with additional services, like refueling, car wash, maintenance or safekeeping of valuables. As of 2019 another multistorey car parking structure is being built east of the existing ones, closer to the main access road. All parking facilities are no more 5 minutes' walking distance from the terminals. There are short-term parking spots directly on the airport forecourt in front of the terminals.

Nuremberg Airport is also a center for Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht e.V (DRF) and HDM Flugservice air rescue services which operate a rescue helicopter and an intensive care helicopter, respectively. Furthermore, several ADAC air ambulances and Flight Ambulance International (FAI)[17] are based in Nuremberg.

The airport's U-Bahn station

The U-Bahn (Metro) line U2 serves the airport at the Flughafen station. Trains connect the airport with the centre of the city every 10 minutes. The ride to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Railway Station) and the nearby Altstadt (historic old town) only takes 13 minutes. Nuremberg Airport is the only airport in Germany to be served by U-Bahn rather than S-Bahn, Tramway or Deutsche Bahn.

Nuremberg Airport is located 5 km (3.1 mi) north[3] of the city centre. It is accessible via nearby Motorway A 3, which connects to Motorway A 9 as well as Motorways A 73 and A 6.

Bus number 30 connects the airport with bus and tram stop "am Wegfeld" before continuing to Erlangen. Since December 2015 new line 33 was installed, allowing passengers from Nuremberg's west-neighbouring city Fürth getting to the airport quicker without taking a detour via Nuremberg Central Station. Since the extension of Tram Line 4 from Thon to am Wegfeld, Bus line 30 which formerly terminated in Thon has been rerouted to the airport, thus offering a direct connection to downtown Erlangen from the airport for the first time.

Because of the airport's close-in location and its direct connections to local streets, it is also possible to walk or ride a bicycle from nearby neighborhoods right up to the terminal.

In 2009, it was decided that a new hotel with conference rooms and offices will be built at the airport roundabout. ConTech GmbH and the architect's office Christ, both from Nuremberg, will realize the project with investor ZBI. In 2011 the plans were put on hold until the motorway connection is completed.

Direct access to motorway A3 has been planned for several years. A direct route to the airport with a tunnel under the runway to reduce traffic through city district Ziegelstein is favored and spatial planning has already been completed. However, further planning has been delayed as environmental organization Bund Naturschutz and alliance Nein zur Flughafen-Nordanbindung! are vehemently against the plans. While the decision to construct motorway access is ultimately taken at the federal level, ahead of the 2020 mayoral elections candidates of CSU, SPD and Greens have all voiced their opposition to the plans of constructing such a road.[32]

• Bernd Windsheimer: 50 Jahre Airport Nürnberg 1955–2005. Geschichte der Luftfahrt in Nürnberg, Nürnberg 2005