Erfurt–Weimar Airport

Erfurt–Weimar Airport[3] (German: Flughafen Erfurt–Weimar, formerly Erfurt Airport, IATA: ERF, ICAO: EDDE) serves Erfurt, the capital of the German state of Thuringia, and the nearby city of Weimar, both of which form the largest part of the state's central metropolitan area. The airport is 5 km (3.1 mi) west of Erfurt city center[2] and is mainly used for seasonal charter flights to European leisure destinations.

Erfurt–Weimar Airport

Flughafen Erfurt–Weimar
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorFlughafen Erfurt GmbH
ServesErfurt and Weimar
LocationErfurt, Germany
Elevation AMSL1,036 ft / 316 m
Coordinates50°58′47″N 010°57′29″E
WebsiteFlughafen-erfurt-weimar.de
Map
EDDE is located in Thuringia
EDDE
EDDE
Location of the airport in Thuringia
EDDE is located in Germany
EDDE
EDDE
EDDE (Germany)
EDDE is located in Europe
EDDE
EDDE
EDDE (Europe)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
10/28 2,600 8,530 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
PassengersIncrease 137,779
Aircraft movementsDecrease 6,048
Freight (in tons)Decrease 925
Source: Statistics, ADV[1],
AIP at German air traffic control.[2]

History

The first Erfurt airport was built in the mid-1920s at Roter Berg in the north of the city, later also known as Erfurt-North. At the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, this site was taken over by the Luftwaffe, thus ending passenger traffic. With the end of the war in 1945, Erfurt-North was closed, but in 1956, the pre-military organisation Gesellschaft für Sport und Technik resumed glider operations here. In 1974, the airfield was finally closed in order to build the residential area Roter Berg on the site.[4]

The foundation for today's Erfurt–Weimar Airport was laid in 1935, when a new air base was built by the Luftwaffe west of Erfurt near Bindersleben. In 1945 the air base was taken over by the Red Army, which stationed an alert unit with MiG-15 fighter planes here in the 1950s. Around 1957 the airfield was handed over to the East German authorities who extended it and built a 2000 m long concrete runway. In the following years the airfield was used by the East German Lufthansa and later by Interflug for domestic flights until these were discontinued in 1980. In addition, there were individual connections to socialist countries, especially to Budapest in Hungary. Erfurt was also a base for Interflug’s agricultural aviation with the Erfurt district squadron stationed here.[5]

After German reunification, Erfurt Airport was further expanded and the runway was extended to 2600 m.

The airport's name was changed from Erfurt Airport in 2011,[6] it was felt that from a marketing point of view the addition of Weimar to the name would better sell the area due to its historic importance.

Despite its importance as a state capital and its central location within Germany, the airport features no domestic flights. The only route to Munich Airport offered by Cirrus Airlines ceased by March 2012.[7] However, the city became one of Germany's most important long distance railway hubs by 2017, when the newly constructed Munich-Berlin high-speed line met the Frankfurt-Dresden line at Erfurt main station. As a result, it is possible to reach Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich within two hours by rail from Erfurt, making domestic flights redundant.[8] After the shutdown of Germania in early 2019, the airport lost the vast majority of its routes.

Facilities

The airport consists of one passenger and one business terminal. The passenger terminal features two aircraft parking positions and four boarding gates on two levels, the upper ones are equipped with jet bridges. There are also some shops and restaurants, a visitors terrace as well as travel and rental car agencies inside the terminal.[9] The apron also features several additional bus-boarding stands for mid-sized aircraft such as the Boeing 737.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Erfurt–Weimar Airport:[10]

AirlinesDestinations
Corendon Airlines Antalya, Hurghada
Seasonal: Heraklion
European Air Charter Seasonal charter: Burgas
Eurowings Seasonal: Palma de Mallorca (begins 1 April 2024)[11]
FlyEgypt Seasonal charter: Hurghada[12]
Freebird Airlines Seasonal: Antalya[13]
Tailwind Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya[12]

Statistics
Erfurt Airport in 1979
The main terminal building
The check-in hall
Annual passenger traffic at ERF airport. See Wikidata query.
Passengers
2000 481,573
2001 Decrease 471,624
2002 Decrease 445,504
2003 Increase 464,681
2004 Increase 526,241
2005 Decrease 438,912
2006 Decrease 356,378
2007 Decrease 315,759
2008 Decrease 308,228
2009 Decrease 270,267
2010 Increase 322,073
2011 Decrease 280,913
2012 Decrease 183,999
2013 Increase 214,948
2014[14] Increase 226,581
2015 Increase 230,436
2016 Increase 235,331
2017 Increase 282,731
2018 Decrease 262,530
2019 Decrease 156,326
2020 Decrease 27,542
2021 Increase 71,665
2022 Increase 137,779
Source: ADV German Airports Association[15]

Ground transportation

Car

The airport can be reached via nearby A71 motorway (Erfurt-Bindersleben exit) which leads from Erfurt to Schweinfurt in Bavaria.[16]

Tram

Erfurt Tram line No. 4[17] to the suburb of Bindersleben stops in front of the airport. The trams depart every 10–20 minutes and connect the airport with Erfurt's main train station via the city centre in about 20 minutes.[18]

See also

References
  1. "ADV Monthly Traffic Report 12/2022" (PDF). adv.org. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen e.V. 2023-02-13. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  2. "AIP VFR online". dfs.de. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH. Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  3. "Erfurt–Weimar Airport". Flughafen.erfurt.weimar.de. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  4. Zapf, Jürgen: "Flugplätze der Luftwaffe 1934-1945, Band 3 Thüringen", VDM Heinz Nickel 2003
  5. Grenzdörfer, Joachim; Seifert, Karl-Dieter: "Geschichte der ostdeutschen Verkehrsflughäfen", Bernard & Graefe Verlag Bonn 1997
  6. "A new season. A new name". Flughafen.erfurt.weimar.de. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
  7. "Cirrus-Airline will Fluglinie Erfurt - München einstellen". Theueringer-allgemeine.de. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  8. "ICE-Knoten Erfurt: Überblick". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-22.
  9. "An- und Abreise". Flughafen-erfurt-weimar.de. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  10. "flughafen-erfurt-weimar.de - Flight Schedule". Flughafen-erfurt-weimar.de. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  11. https://aviation.direct/sommer-2024-eurowings-nimmt-erfurt-palma-de-mallorca-auf
  12. "Summer schedule 2023 - Erfurt Airport".
  13. "FREEBIRD AIRLINES RESUMES ANTALYA – ERFURT SERVICE FROM LATE-SEP 2023".
  14. "Plus 14 Prozent bei der Luftfracht: Erfurt-Weimar wächst – und spart". Flugrevue.de. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  15. "Downloadbibliothek". Flughafenverband ADV (in German). Retrieved 2023-02-21.
  16. "An- und Abreise". Flughafen-erfurt-weimar.de. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  17. "Herzlich willkommen bei der EVAG". Archived from the original on 2005-07-03. Retrieved 2005-07-02.
  18. "An- und Abreise". Flughafen-erfurt-weimar.de. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2018.

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