Wereldreizigers.nl
Home » worldly » Which airports / airports are there in Germany? † Useful facts

Which airports / airports are there in Germany? † Useful facts

Germany hosts over thirty commercial airports! And when you have a long journey or planning a world trip If you are from the Netherlands, it can sometimes be useful to know which airports can be found at our neighbors. It may just be that airline tickets to or from an airport in Germany are many times cheaper. Looking for the cheapest airline tickets in Germany is, in our opinion, the rule rather than the exception. For example, you can also choose to fly back to Berlin, and the last part of your journey by train to do. Not only is that better for the environment, it's also great fun! In this article you will therefore find the most important international airports in Germany that you can consider when making a world trip. We also tell you a bit of history about each airport, so that you also learn something from it. Enjoy reading!

Also read: Skyscanner | How to save (a lot of) money on flights

International Airports in Germany

These international airports range in size from the mega-complexes in Frankfurt and Munich serving tens of millions of passengers a year to smaller airports in medium-sized cities that can fly anywhere from 220.000 passengers (Zweibrücken Airport) to more than 5,2 million passengers (Hannover Langenhagen Airport). ). The major airports can have up to 125 different airlines serving hundreds of destinations with hundreds or even thousands of takeoffs and landings per day.

Many of the medium-sized airports offer flights from regular airlines such as Lufthansa as well as travel with low-cost and charter airlines such as RyanAir, German Wings, Air Berlin, TUI and Condor. They also often offer significant numbers of flights to cities across Germany and Europa† At the smaller airports, most of the traffic is with low-cost airlines and charter airlines. The charter companies usually serve holiday destinations in warm climates.

The former US Air Force base in Hahn, 120 miles from Frankfurt, was one of the first to offer low cost airline flights and also served as a model for converting former military air bases into commercial airports.

There is also a very successful program linking air travel to rail travel in certain major hub cities. High-speed trains run directly to the airports of Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Cologne-Bonn and Stuttgart.

1. Frankfurt Airport (FRA)

Frankfurt is the busiest airport in Germany (www.airportcity-frankfurt.com) and welcomed more than 69 million passengers in 2018. Frankfurt has scheduled connections to nearly 300 airports in more than a hundred countries. Frankfurt, a global Top 15 airport, ranks 12th busiest for total passenger numbers (seventh for international passengers) and eighth for total cargo tonnage (seventh for international freight). The airport ranks fourth in Europe in terms of passengers (after London-Heathrow, Paris and Amsterdam) and second in cargo (after Paris). There are an average of 2200 take-offs and landings at Frankfurt Airport every day.

Connections to Eastern Europe and Asia

Many of the passengers have their own destination in Frankfurt, as the city is an important commercial center. But Frankfurt is also a transfer point for air and train connections to other German cities and an air transfer point to many other countries, especially in Eastern Europe and Asia.

The busiest cloverleaf of the highway in Europe, the “Frankfurter Kreuz”, borders directly on the airport. Here the A3 and A5 motorways, the most important in Germany, intersect and provide quick access to Europe's extensive superhighway network. In addition, the airport has its own bus station and a large number of parking spaces, also for long-term parking, and parking spaces for disabled, only women and large vehicles.

Many high-speed trains to Frankfurt

More than 270 long-distance trains stop at the train station every day, offering passengers direct connections to Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Dresden, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and many other German cities, not to mention Vienna, Milan, Zurich in amsterdam. Some airlines even have check-in desks at the train station.

Tip:: Book your train ticket to a German airport as far in advance as possible via NSinternational to save (a lot of) money.

The Frankfurt-Cologne high-speed rail line, which cuts travel time from two and a half hours to less than an hour, also serves Frankfurt and Cologne-Bonn airports. Frankfurt has long had a second train station, which provides a rapid transit service to the Rhein-Main area, and this is still operating.

2. Munich Airport (MUC)

Frankfurt today faces stiff competition from Munich's Franz Josef Strauss Airport (www.munich-airport.com), Germany's second largest airport. In 2014, Munich Airport was named “Europe's Best Airport” in the World Airport Awards by Skytrax, a London-based aviation consultancy. On a global level, Munich was named the third best airport in the world. The Bavarian hub improved its position from the previous year and was ranked among the best airports in the world for the 10th time in a row.

In addition, the airport received high scores for airport dining. According to the passengers, Munich has the world's second best airport restaurants and offers more than 45 choices for dining. In addition, the Kempinski Hotel at Munich Airport was voted the second best airport hotel in Europe.

Connections to Southern Europe

The number of passengers reached 46 million in 2018. The airport's growth is largely due to Lufthansa's decision to implement a major expansion program at Munich Airport. This led first to an extension of the original terminal in Munich and then to the opening of a second terminal.

Munich Airport offers an excellent range of destinations and is Europe's top air transport hubs based on the total number of destinations offered. With its extensive flight schedule to and from Italian cities, Munich Airport has been nicknamed “Italy's most northerly airport”. In the summer there are almost 400 weekly flights to Italian destinations. The connections to Central and Southern Europe are also excellent.

Munich Airport is located in the heart of Bavaria, within easy reach of the Alps. If you're heading to Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Czech Republic or Slovakia, Munich Airport is a short drive or train ride to these destinations.

Tip:: Book your train ticket to a German airport as far in advance as possible via NSinternational to save (a lot of) money.

3. Dusseldorf Airport (DUS)

The third busiest airport in Germany is Düsseldorf (https://www.dus.com/de-de† This airport is extremely popular among Dutch travelers because it is only an hour from the Dutch border. Düsseldorf, like Frankfurt, has two train stations, one for long-distance and intercity trains and one for the surrounding area.

Düsseldorf Airport has a departure and arrival hall and three contiguous piers A, B and C from which the flights depart. More than 75 airlines fly from the German airport close to the Dutch border to more than 200 destinations worldwide. Düsseldorf has short routes between the piers, which makes transfers quick.

By train to Düsseldorf Airport

Düsseldorf Airport has two own train stations. More than 350 trains stop daily at Bahnhof Düsseldorf Flughafen. There is also an S-Bahn station, Düsseldorf Flughafen Terminal station, under Pier C, which will take you to Düsseldorf Central Station. From the Netherlands you travel with ICE International from € 20 one way to Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof. Then take the S-Bahn to arrive at the airport 12 minutes later. The SkyTrain (monorail) takes you directly to the terminal, you can buy a ticket for this at the airport.

Tip:: Book your train ticket to a German airport as far in advance as possible via NSinternational to save (a lot of) money.

By car to Düsseldorf airport

With over 20.000 parking spaces, there is plenty of room for your car at Düsseldorf Airport. The airport has divided its rates into three rate zones: Terminal, Langzeit and Langzeit-Spar. The Terminal P1, P2, P3, P7 and P8 car parks are a very short distance from the airport. Long-term parking is possible covered in car parks P4 and P5 and uncovered in car park P22, all within walking distance of the airport building.

The cheapest parking spaces can be found at Langzeit-Spar car parks P23, P24 and P26. A shuttle bus from P20 and P24 runs every 26 minutes to the terminals of Düsseldorf Airport, every day of the week between 03.30:01.00 and 23:26. From P3 it is a short walk to the terminals of the airport. Parking at PXNUMX is only possible after an online reservation. PXNUMX at Düsseldorf Airport close to the terminal is ideal for a weekend away and a lot cheaper when you make an online reservation.

4. Berlin (BER)

During the Cold War, there were four airports serving Berlin – one for each of the occupying forces. The Americans exploited Templehof; the French servants Tegel; the British military airfield was in Gatow and the Russians exploited Schönefeld. After German reunification, traffic in Berlin was split between three airports: Tempelhof; Tegel and Schönefeld. Templehof closed in 2008, leaving Tegel and Schönefeld as the two facilities handling commercial traffic to Berlin.

Berlin Brandenburg is open on October 31, 2020

De Berlin-Brandenburg (BER) airport opened on October 31, 2020. The airport is located on the site of Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF) and replaces the three old Berlin airports. Berlin-Tempelhof (THF) was already closed in 2008. Berlin-Tegel (TXL) was closed on November 8, 2020.

The new airport has two runways, one of which is the existing southern runway, which has been extended to 3.600 m, of the old Berlin-Schönefeld Airport. A new runway has been built to the south of this, while Schönefeld's northern runway was closed in December 2007 to make way for a motorway connection to the new airport. After the opening of Berlin Brandenburg, the remaining infrastructure of Berlin-Schönefeld, the old airport that then no longer has runways available, will be integrated into the new airport.

By train to Airport Berlin Brandenburg

The completely new airport building with associated road and train connections is designed for a capacity of more than 30 million passengers per year, but can be expanded to 50 million passengers if necessary due to the modular construction.

Tip:: Book your train ticket to a German airport as far in advance as possible via NSinternational to save (a lot of) money.

Berlin Brandenburg Airport has two train stations and is therefore easily accessible by public transport. Flughafen BER Terminal 1-2 Bahnhof is located below Terminal 1, a maximum of 10 minutes' walk from Terminal 1 Arrivals and Terminal 2 Arrivals. Several trains run from here to the capital of Germany.

5. Cologne / Bonn (CGN)

Konrad Adenauer Airport (https://www.koeln-bonn-airport.de), between Cologne and Bonn, is one of the home bases of Germanwings and other low-cost airlines. And the train station connects it to Frankfurt Airport in less than an hour via the InterCity high-speed line. This offers many possibilities for connections that should contribute to the growth of the airport and that should also relieve the Frankfurt runways somewhat.

Many cheap flights and easily accessible from the Netherlands

This airport is often used by world travelers as a sort of intermediate hub or as a departure port for a journey within Europe. The airport is approximately 1,5 hours drive from Maastricht and a short 2 hour drive from Nijmegen. Because it is a budget air airport, this is an excellent airport for cheap flights to Eastern or Southern Europe, for example.

6. Frankfurt Hahn (HHN)

Frankfurt Hahn (http://www.hahn-airport.de) is an international airport located in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, west of Kirchberg. Although the name suggests otherwise, the airport is located approximately 125 kilometers west of Frankfurt am Main.

Many bus connections

There are bus connections to Frankfurt and Frankfurt Flughafen, Saarbrücken, Luxembourg and Metz, among others.

Cheap Ryanair flights

Because of this, and the low airport costs for the airlines, it has become a popular cargo airport and departure point for low-cost carriers from West Germany. Especially low-cost airline Ryanair uses Frankfurt-Hahn as a hub.

The airport handled approximately 2015 million passengers in 2,7 and is expected to contribute to employment for approximately 3000 direct and 11000 indirect jobs. After 2011, passenger numbers declined as Ryanair partially shifted services to larger airports.

7. Hamburg (HAM)

Hamburg Airport, officially: Hamburg Airport Helmut Schmidt, formerly: Flughafen Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel) is an international airport located in the German city of Hamburg in the Fuhlsbüttel district. The history of the airport in Fuhlsbüttel dates back to 1911, making it the oldest airport in the world still in operation at its original location.

In January 2016 it was announced that a name change will be made for the airport following the death and in honor of former Chancellor and Hamburger Helmut Schmidt. The existing official name Hamburg Airport and the associated brand HAM will continue as a nickname. The name change has now been implemented

Airport full of prize fighters

In 2015, approximately 15,6 million passengers used the airport, making it the 5th largest airport in Germany in terms of passenger numbers. The airport is a hub for Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings and for low cost airlines easyJet and Ryanair. The busiest connection at the airport is with Munich.

Due to the fact that the airport is also the fall-back airport for Finkenwerder, the airport and the manufacturing site of Airbus, the runways and platforms are suitable for the Airbus A380.

Tip:: Book your train ticket to a German airport as far in advance as possible via NSinternational to save (a lot of) money.

8.Stuttgart (STR)

Stuttgart Airport is located just off Autobahn 8 south of the city of Stuttgart. It is an important hub with more than 15 million passengers a year, making it the 6th busiest airport in Germany.

Next to the airport, the Stuttgart Trade Fair Exhibition Center was opened in 2007. When it was built in 2004, the outdated terminal was replaced by four new passenger terminals. They offer all the amenities of a modern airport.

In the wake of September 11, Germany enacted flight safety rules similar to those in effect in the US, including bans on knives, scissors and the like in hand luggage. Security at Frankfurt and Munich is particularly tight on transatlantic flights, on flights to Israel and on flights operated by British and American airlines, regardless of where they go. It is important that passengers, especially those on these flights, arrive at the airport well in advance of departure.

Tip:: Book your train ticket to a German airport as far in advance as possible via NSinternational to save (a lot of) money.

Avatar picture

Wereldreizigers.nl (World Travelers dot NL)

Wereldreizigers.nl | Everything about long-distance travel, world travel, travel news, travel photography, backpacking, travel tips and more.

Seen a mistake? Ask? Remark? Let us know in the comments!

Would you like to receive great travel tips and extra benefits every month? And did you know that we give away a monthly world map to our subscribers? All you have to do is leave your email address below and you will have a chance to win every month!

logo-world travelers-grey-1
Translate »
69 Shares
69 Shares
Copy link