Lübeck Airport Flughafen Lübeck | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Operator | Stöcker Flughafen GmbH & Co. KG | ||||||||||
| Serves | Lübeck,Germany | ||||||||||
| Hub for | Lübeck Air | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 53 ft / 16 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°48′19″N010°43′09″E / 53.80528°N 10.71917°E /53.80528; 10.71917 | ||||||||||
| Website | flughafen-luebeck.de | ||||||||||
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  EDHL Location of Lübeck Airport | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||
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Lübeck Airport (IATA:LBC,ICAO:EDHL) is a minorGermanairport located 8 km (5.0 mi) south ofLübeck, the second-largest city in the state ofSchleswig-Holstein, and 54 km (34 mi) northeast ofHamburg. It is the secondary airport for theHamburg Metropolitan Region, after the much biggerHamburg Airport,[3] and is used for domestic and some occasional charter flights. The airport was therefore sometimes called "Hamburg Lübeck" for marketing purposes.
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The construction of the airport began in 1916 and was completed in 1917 when it started its operations as a militaryairfield. At the end ofWorld War I the airfield was shut down. In 1933 it was re-opened and extended by theLuftwaffe. During theBerlin Blockade afterWorld War II, theRoyal Air Force flew coal to Berlin and refugees to West Germany usingDouglas Dakota aircraft.
Units;
After there-unification of Germany, the airport started to grow slightly when several airlines started flying to Lübeck. In 1997, the arrival terminal was re-constructed and extended.
Ryanair started to operate from the airport in 2000 with the first flights toLondon-Stansted. Ryanair's route system expanded over the years until 2009.Wizz Air started operations in 2006 with flights to Gdańsk, and later other eastern European destinations. Discussions about Ryanair opening a base at the airport were held since 2009 without results.[citation needed]
Infratil, an infrastructure investment company fromNew Zealand held a 90% shareholding from November 2005 until the end of October 2009, when it sold its shares back to the City of Lübeck.[56] The new principal operator, Flughafen Lübeck GmbH, had been searching for an investor since then, when in 2013 the airport was sold to a private investor.[57]
In 2010, both the financial crisis and the eruption of theEyjafjallajökull led to a general decrease in passenger numbers and destinations.
A newILS CAT II system went operational in February 2014, allowing planes to operate at the airport in more difficult weather conditions.[58] As of March 2014, there were four lawsuits active against a further expansion of the airport.[57]
On 23 April 2014 Lübeck Airport filed for bankruptcy.[59] A few days earlier it had been reported that the owner, which bought the airport in 2013, had pulled out again.[60] The airport continued to operate while the liquidator reviewed possible strategies.[61] In July 2014, the bankrupt airport was sold to Chinese investorPuRen Germany GmbH, a subsidiary ofPuRen Group.[62]
In June 2014Ryanair announced it would leave Lübeck Airport as of October 2014 due to the airport's uncertain future.[63] Soon this date was revised to July 2014, when the year-round route toBergamo as well as the seasonal services toPalma de Mallorca andPisa ceased. Meanwhile, Ryanair announced it would start new routes fromHamburg Airport instead.[64]
In September 2015, the airport's new owner, the German subsidiary of the ChinesePuRen Group, also declared bankruptcy. The state of Schleswig-Holstein had already announced it would not invest in the airport. New investors were sought and operations would be maintained until further notice.[65] As of January 2016, the selection process for a new owner of the airport was still ongoing.[66]
In March 2016,Wizz Air announced that it would cease all operations to and from Lübeck by 15 April 2016, leaving the airport without any scheduled passenger services. The routes toGdańsk,Kyiv–Zhulyany andSkopje were relocated toHamburg Airport,[67] while the flights toRiga as well as the newly established route toSofia ceased without replacement. The last scheduled commercial flight, a Wizz Air service to Sofia, left Lübeck at 20:05 local time on 15 April 2016.[68]
In January 2020, Lübeck Airport announced plans to start avirtual airline, with scheduled flights to Stuttgart and Munich from 1 June 2020. For this purpose, anATR 72-500 was purchased, which is flown under theLübeck Air brand and was then operated byAir Alsie. Flights eventually began on 17 August 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[69]
In March 2023, Lübeck Air announced it would end its ATR flights and seek to start jet operations with another airline. They also published a revised route network focusing on more leisure destinations, ending the route toStuttgart Airport.[70] In September 2023, Lübeck Air announced the suspension of all flights for the upcoming winter season, leaving Lübeck Airport without scheduled operations.[71] Later, Lübeck Air then confirmed it would not resume its own operations for the foreseeable future, depending on cooperation with other airlines from Lübeck Airport for 2024 instead.[72]
In 2024,Ryanair announced it would return to Lübeck after a ten-year hiatus, inaugurating scheduled flights toLondon,Málaga andPalma de Mallorca in 2025.[73]
Lübeck Airport features one small terminal building, containing check-in facilities, a shop and some restaurants.[74] The apron features three stands for walk-boarding, which are suitable for mid-sized aircraft such as theAirbus A320, as well as some stands for smallergeneral aviation aircraft.
The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights at Lübeck Airport:[75]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Ryanair[76] | Seasonal:London–Stansted,[77]Málaga,[77]Palma de Mallorca[77] |
| Smartwings[78] | Seasonal charter:Gran Canaria |
| Passengers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 184,622 | |||
| 2001 |  231,094 | |||
| 2002 | 270,188 | |||
| 2003 | 539,580 | |||
| 2004 | 598,777 | |||
| 2005 | 715,731 | |||
| 2006 |  677,638 | |||
| 2007 | 612,858 | |||
| 2008 | 534,509 | |||
| 2009 | 688,302 | |||
| 2010 | 537,835 | |||
| 2011 | 344,068 | |||
| 2012 | 359,974 | |||
| 2013 | 367,252 | |||
| 2014 | 168,593 | |||
| Source: ADV,[79]Lübeck Airport[80] | ||||
Lübeck Airport can be reached via motorwaysA1 which leads towardsHamburg andA20 which runs to the east throughMecklenburg-Vorpommern (exitLübeck-Süd).
The local bus line 6 runs every 30 minutes and connects the airport with Lübeck's main bus station ("ZOB").
Regional trains run every hour betweenKiel andLüneburg, stopping at the airport's own stationLübeck-Flughafen as well asLübeck main station. Connecting trains are available at Lübeck Hauptbahnhof or inBüchen to Hamburg and other destinations.
Media related toLübeck Airport at Wikimedia Commons
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