Leipzig/Halle Airport Explained

Leipzig/Halle Airport
Nativename:Flughafen Leipzig/Halle
Image2-Width:250
Iata:LEJ
Icao:EDDP
Pushpin Map:Germany Saxony
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of airport in Saxony
Pushpin Label:LEJ
Pushpin Label Position:right
Type:Public
Owner:Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding AG
Operator:Flughafen Leipzig/Halle GmbH
City-Served:Leipzig and Halle
Location:Schkeuditz, Germany
Hub:
Focus City:
Elevation-F:470
Elevation-M:143
Coordinates:51.4239°N 12.2364°W
Website:mdf-ag.com
Metric-Rwy:Yes
R1-Number:08L/26R
R1-Length-F:11,811
R1-Length-M:3,600
R1-Surface:Concrete
R2-Number:08R/26L
R2-Length-F:11,811
R2-Length-M:3,600
R2-Surface:Concrete
Stat-Year:2022
Stat1-Header:Passengers
Stat1-Data:1,558,602 +133,4%
Stat2-Header:Aircraft movements
Stat2-Data:80,902 +6,3%
Stat3-Header:Cargo (metric tons)
Stat3-Data:1,510,575 -5,1%
Footnotes:Sources: Statistics at ADV.[4],
AIP at German air traffic control.[5]

Leipzig/Halle Airport (German: Flughafen Leipzig/Halle) is an international airport located in Schkeuditz, Saxony, Germany, and serves both Leipzig, Saxony, and Halle, Saxony-Anhalt. It is a state-owned enterprise and is one of only 4 German airports which allows 24 hour take off and landing, i.e. red-eye flights.

In terms of cargo traffic, as of 2019 the airport was the second-busiest in Germany after Frankfurt Airport, and the fifth-busiest in Europe, having handled 1,238,343 metric tonnes of cargo. It is Germany's 14th largest airport by passengers and handled more than 2.61 million passengers in 2019 mainly with flights to European leisure destinations. The airport serves as the main European hub for DHL Aviation and the main hub for AeroLogic. Military installations have also been built at the airport for NATO and EU military aircraft.[6]

History

Foundation in the GDR

The airport was built new from the ground up at a location between Halle and Leipzig from 1926 and opened in 1927.

On 18 March 1986, Air France flew a Concorde to the airport, to coincide with the world-renowned Leipzig trade fair. Two days later British Airways also flew a Concorde to Leipzig/Halle. In the following years, both airlines operated Concorde flights from Paris and London when the trade fair was held in Leipzig.

Development since 2000

Despite its name, the airport is located in the town of Schkeuditz, Nordsachsen. A deal between the city of Leipzig and the Landkreis Delitzsch led to a land exchange. In 2007, Leipzig received land outside the airport while ownership of the airport land was transferred to Delitzsch. The District of Delitzsch, which by now has merged to become part of Landkreis Nordsachsen, owns and claims taxes from the grounds and commercial interest from the airport.

In early 2008, DHL Aviation moved its European hub from Brussels Airport to Leipzig/Halle, leading to a significant increase in cargo traffic at the airport. Leipzig bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games and the airport was modernised as a result, even though London was eventually awarded the games.

In spring 2013, Ryanair announced the start of operations to Leipzig/Halle on six routes. However, one year later all of them except the flights to London–Stansted were terminated.[7] In February 2015, Etihad Regional announced the immediate termination of all their Leipzig/Halle operations which had started only two years earlier, due to changes to their operational concept. All three routes were shut down while two newly announced ones did not start.[8]

In September 2016, Pakistan International Airlines announced plans to replace Manchester on their Islamabad - Manchester - New York City route with Leipzig/Halle in 2017 to lower operational costs and save time. As the airline holds Fifth Freedom rights, this would have been Leipzig/Halle's first passenger service to the United States.[9] In October 2017, the airline announced it would end all routes to the United States, so plans to use Leipzig as a layover to New York-JFK never came to be.[10]

In October 2016, DHL inaugurated a major expansion to its freight facilities at the airport. Two new cargo terminals increased handling capacity by 50 percent.[11]

As of April 2018, the largest passenger airline at Leipzig/Halle Airport measured by weekly departures is Condor with 55 outgoing flights per week. For this purpose, three Airbus A321 aircraft are stationed at the airport. The second-largest airline was Small Planet Airlines (Germany) with 18 outgoing flights per week. The airline stationed an Airbus A320 aircraft to serve several leisure destinations for TUI Group.[12] It was followed by SunExpress Deutschland which operated 15 weekly departures and stationed for this a Boeing 737 aircraft at the airport.[13] [14]

In August 2018, DHL announced further expansion of its facilities at the airport. Beside an enlargement of the apron, a new pilot training center was also planned. The number of employees was to increase from 5700 to 6000.[15] At the same time, EAT Leipzig announced that they would add five used Airbus A330 freighters to their fleet, for a total of 36 aircraft.[16] Also in August 2018, the Russian Volga-Dnepr Group announced plans to launch a new German freight subsidiary based at the airport.[17] [18] As of 2021, there were up to 170 nighttime take offs and landings for cargo operations.

In 2024, the airport holding and DHL extended an agreement for the latter to maintain a freight hub in Leipzig/Halle until at least 2053.[19]

Criticism

The airport is owned by the Mitteldeutsche Flughafen Holding AG, a state-owned enterprise. According to public records for 2005 to 2014, its operating losses totalled almost 570 million € and from 2000 to 2020 they were 800 million €.[20] The main reason for the losses have been take-off and landing fees, which do not cover operating costs. DHL has been profiting from these low prices; its particular subsidy DHL-Hub Leipzig GmbH does not publish its own figures, but as part of the DHL Express division, it has been making profits for many years, with 2.04 billion in 2019 alone.

Residents in the Saale district have been complaining about the noise pollution for years and have been asking to adapt start and landing fees, pricing up night flights.[21] [22]

Facilities

Terminal

The modern airport terminal structure extends over the adjacent motorway and railway. It integrates the main car park as well as the check-in-facilities and is connected to a pier equipped with six jet bridges as well as several apron stands. Due to its compact design, it provides short walking distances. The airport terminal has immigration facilities for international flights but no international transfer area.

Runways

The airport has two runways. Terminal access is south of the railway. Runway 08L/26R runs parallel to the road north of the railway, requiring aircraft to taxi on a bridge over the tracks and roads.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Leipzig/Halle Airport:[23]

Military

Some US airlines have flown to Leipzig/Halle on behalf of the US Department of Defense, to bring US Army troops and US Marines to Afghanistan and Iraq. Leipzig/Halle is used as a technical stop for refueling on these flights.[24] They do not appear at any official timetable. Marines and soldiers flown via Leipzig/Halle are listed as transit passengers in its traffic statistics. Military charter flights are also operated via Leipzig/Halle, e. g. on behalf of the NATO.[6]

Statistics

Passengers Movements
1990274,878 9,549 366
1991 634,424 26,089 4,372
1992 1,073,378 42,960 8,611
1993 1,521,436 48,510 17,482
1994 1,901,797 52,590 23,189
1995 2,104,822 53,807 25,225
1996 2,186,649 50,298 22,410
1997 2,248,852 47,284 17,220
1998 2,108,779 43,778 12,866
1999 2,162,769 47,944 15,220
2000 2,288,931 47,030 17,086
2001 2,185,130 42,408 15,799
2002 1,988,854 41,209 16,882
2003 1,955,070 40,303 17.559
2004 2,041,046 39,316 12,575
2005 2,127,895 37,905 15,641
2006 2,348,011 42,417 29,330
2007 2,723,000 50,972 101,364
2008 2,462,256 59,924 442,453
2009 2,421,382 60,150 524,082
2010 2,348,597 62,247 663,024
2011 2,266,743 64,097 760,344
2012 2,286,151 62,688 863,665
2013 2,240,860 61,668 887,101
2014 2,331,399 63,569 910,708
2015 2,321,975 65,061 988,240
2016[25] 2,192,145 64,492 1,052,372
2017[26] 2,365,141 69,815 1,138,477
2018[27] 2,571,119 79,218 1,221,429
2019[28] 2,618,772 78,980 1,238,343
2020[29] 530,221 64,483 1,383,485
2021[30] 667,784 76,104 1,591,618
2022 1,558,602 80,902 1,510,575
2023 2,101,425 80,536 1,393,747
Source: Leipzig/Halle Airport Traffic statistics[31]

Ground transportation

Train

Leipzig/Halle Airport railway station is located directly under the passenger terminal and has Intercity connections on the Dresden-Magdeburg-Hanover-Cologne route. Two lines of the S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland connect directly to Leipzig and Halle, and onwards to Altenburg and Zwickau with connections to most parts of Central Germany.

Car

The airport is connected to two motorways: the A14 connecting to Dresden (130 km), Halle (20 km) and Magdeburg (130 km), and the A9 connecting to Munich (430 km), Nuremberg (280 km), and Berlin (180 km).

Coach

Flixbus connects in both directions twice per day to Dresden, Göttingen, and Kassel and once per day to Dortmund and Cologne.

In popular culture

The airport's facilities have been featured in major films and TV shows during recent years:

Accidents and incidents

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Amazon launches its first Amazon Air regional hub in Europe. 5 November 2020 .
  2. Web site: Leipzig/Halle erhält zwei AN-124-Anbieter. airliners.de.
  3. Web site: Nato vergibt Auftrag: Antonovs bleiben am Flughafen Halle/Leipzig stationiert. Steffen. Höhne. 3 November 2016. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.
  4. Web site: ADV Monthly Traffic Report 12/2022 . adv.aero . Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen e.V. . 2023-02-13 . 2023-02-17 . de . PDF; 919 KB.
  5. Web site: AIP VFR online. dfs.de. 2023-02-21. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH. en.
  6. Web site: www.german-foreign-policy.com. 4 June 2015.
  7. Web site: Ryanair streicht fast alle Flugziele ab Leipzig/Halle. 10 January 2014. 4 June 2015.
  8. Web site: Etihad Regional zieht sich komplett aus Deutschland zurück. airliners.de. 4 June 2015.
  9. http://www.aero.de/news-24949/Pakistan-International-verbindet-Leipzig-mit-New-York.html aero.de - "Pakistan International Airlines connects Leipzig and New York"
  10. Web site: Ausgeträumt: Direktverbindung Leipzig - New York endgültig vom Tisch. LVZ - Leipziger Volkszeitung.
  11. http://www.aero.de/news-25209/DHL-eroeffnet-neue-Terminals-am-Flughafen-Leipzig-Halle.html aero.de - "DHL opens new terminals at Leipzig/Halle Airport"
  12. Web site: Small Planet Airlines. www.smallplanet.aero. 14 July 2020.
  13. Web site: Neue Ziele: Sun Express stationiert Flugzeug in Leipzig/Halle. airliners.de.
  14. Web site: Flughafen Leipzig/Halle - Unternehmen > Newsroom > Pressemitteilungen > Neuigkeiten im Sommerflugplan 2018 > Neuigkeiten im Sommerflugplan 2018. www.leipzig-halle-airport.de.
  15. Web site: DHL baut Leipzig/Halle kräftig aus: Post-Tochter plant künftig mehr Flüge am Airport. 29 August 2018. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung.
  16. Web site: DHL kauft fünf Airbus A330 von Etihad. airliners.de.
  17. Web site: CargoLogic Germany Ante Portas. 26 August 2018. CargoForwarder Global.
  18. Web site: Volga-Dnepr Group's new German unit to launch with B737s. ch-aviation.
  19. https://www.lvz.de/lokales/leipzig/flughafen-leipzighalle-dhl-bleibt-was-das-fuer-leipzig-bedeutet-2VHDOWRVHVAVVJUJAONZK2SEBQ.html lvz.de
  20. News: Julke . Ralf . 2021-04-09 . Frachtfliegerei auf Steuerzahlerkosten: Startentgelte am Flughafen Leipzig/Halle decken nicht mal die Betriebskosten . 2024-05-04 . de-DE.
  21. News: Julke . Ralf . 2024-04-10 . Defizitärer Flughafen Leipzig/Halle: Bürgerinitiativen fordern eine neue Flughafenentgeltordnung . 2024-05-05 . de-DE.
  22. News: mdr.de . 2022-06-08 . Ausbau des Flughafen Leipzig/Halle: Mehr Fluglärm in Halle erwartet . 2024-05-03 . de.
  23. Web site: mdf-ag.com - Flightsearch. 1 November 2022.
  24. https://dubisthalle.de/us-army-legt-tankstopp-am-flughafen-leipzig-halle-ein dubisthalle.de
  25. Web site: Flughafen Leipzig/Halle und Dresden hatten 2016 weniger Passagiere. airportzentrale.de.
  26. Web site: Flughafen Leipzig/Halle - Unternehmen > Newsroom > Pressemitteilungen > Verkehrsentwicklung der Flughäfen Leipzig/Halle und Dresden im Jahr 2017 > Verkehrsentwicklung der Flughäfen Leipzig/Halle und Dresden im Jahr 2017. www.leipzig-halle-airport.de. 19 January 2018. 14 October 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181014204110/https://www.leipzig-halle-airport.de/unternehmen/newsroom/pressemitteilungen/verkehrsentwicklung-der-flughaefen-leipzig-halle-und-dresden-im-jahr-2017-3068.html. dead.
  27. Web site: Flughafen Leipzig/Halle | Unternehmen > Newsroom > Pressemitteilungen > Verkehrsentwicklung der Flughäfen Leipzig/Halle und Dresden im Jahr 2018: Zuwächse im Passagierverkehr – Frachtanstieg in Leipzig/Halle > Verkehrsentwicklung der Flughäfen Leipzig/Halle und Dresden im Jahr 2018: Zuwächse im Passagierverkehr – Frachtanstieg in Leipzig/Halle . 24 January 2019 . 24 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190124203805/https://www.leipzig-halle-airport.de/unternehmen/newsroom/pressemitteilungen/verkehrsentwicklung-der-flughaefen-leipzig-halle-und-dresden-im-jahr-2018-zuwaechse-im-passagierverkehr-frachtanstieg-in-leipzig-halle-3159.html . dead .
  28. Web site: Flughafen Leipzig/Halle | Unternehmen > Newsroom > Pressemitteilungen > Verkehrszahlen 2019: LEJ mit Frachtrekord und mehr Passagieren, DRS nach Germania-Aus im Minus > Verkehrszahlen 2019: LEJ mit Frachtrekord und mehr Passagieren, DRS nach Germania-Aus im Minus . 27 January 2020 . 26 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200126113757/https://www.leipzig-halle-airport.de/unternehmen/newsroom/pressemitteilungen/verkehrszahlen-2019-lej-mit-frachtrekord-und-mehr-passagieren-drs-nach-germania-aus-im-minus-3213.html . dead .
  29. ADV-Monatsstatistik 12/2020 . Flughafenverband ADV . 12–13 . ADV Monthly Traffic Report 12/2020.
  30. ADV-Monatsstatistik Dezember 2021 . Flughafenverband ADV . 12–13 . ADV Monthly Traffic Report December 2021.
  31. Web site: Leipzig/Halle Airport Traffic statistics . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110919031352/http://www.leipzig-halle-airport.de/en/index/unternehmen_flughafen/flughafen_lej/verkehrsstatistik.html?newLanguage=en . 19 September 2011 . dmy-all .
  32. Web site: 'Flightplan'-Arbeit am Flughafen: Jodie Foster dreht in Leipzig. RP ONLINE. RP ONLINE. 4 June 2015.
  33. Web site: Hollywood fliegt erneut auf Leipzig. LVZ-Online. 4 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150318052414/http://nachrichten.lvz-online.de/leipzig/boulevard/hollywood-fliegt-erneut-auf-leipzig/r-boulevard-a-18074.html. 18 March 2015. dead.
  34. Web site: "Inventing Anna": Reise zu den Drehorten der Serie . 8 March 2022 .
  35. Web site: Accident synopsis, Tupolev Tu-134 DM-SCD . Aviation-safety.net . 22 December 2012.