Memmingen Airport
Encyclopedia
Memmingen Airport is a small public airport in the town of Memmingerberg
near Memmingen
, in the Swabia
region of Germany. It is the smallest of three commercial airports in Bavaria
and has the highest altitude of any commercial airport in Germany. Until 25 September 2008 it was known as Allgäu Airport/Memmingen.
Located about 3.8 km (2.4 mi) from the centre of Memmingen and 110 km (68.4 mi) from the city centre of Munich
, it serves Memmingen and the Allgäu
area and also provides a low-cost alternative to Munich Airport: it is marketed as "Munich-West Airport". The airport is located close to the A96 and A7 motorways. The airport can also be reached by local bus from Memmingen Central Station and express buses from Nuremberg, Ingolstadt, Munich and Ulm.
At 110km, "Munich-West Airport" is further than any other airport in Europe from its eponymous city.
Memmingen airport has an Instrument Landing System (ILS)
Category 1 for runway 24, NDB/DME, GPS RNAV. It is operated by Allgäu Airport GmbH & Co. KG, a limited partnership of several mostly local, medium-sized companies.
The airport was certified as a regional commercial airport on 20 July 2004 and commenced operation on 5 August 2004, but there were no scheduled or regular chartered flights. Scheduled flights to the 2005 Hanover Fair were cancelled due to lack of demand. In June 2005, the district of Oberallgäu
granted initial finance of €480,000. A further sum of €200,000 was granted by the city of Memmingen
after a popular vote on 25 September 2005. In 2006, scheduled flights to Dortmund
and Rostock
were planned but cancelled because the carrier became insolvent. In autumn 2006, the air transport company Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter
offered chartered flights to Dortmund for two months, during which only 100 passengers were carried.
In March 2007, a subsidy of €7,500,000 promised by Bavaria was approved by the European Commission
.
On 28 June 2007, TUIfly
started offering domestic flights and also chartered flights to holiday destinations such as Mallorca
, Crete
, Naples
, Rome
, Venice
and Antalya
.
Nearly all flights at Memmingen are to or from countries that are members of both the European Union
and the Schengen Agreement
. These flights do not require immigration or customs controls, and thus there is no permanent customs office at the airport. Weekly flights from Antalya, Turkey and Kyiv, Ukraine were handled by officers from the Bavarian Forest
at first and are now, after the airport was granted an exception, handled by customs officers from the region.
In March 2009, Ryanair
announced seven new routes to/from Memmingen starting May 2009. They have continued to announce new routes and from May 2010 Ryanair will operate 14 routes.
Memmingerberg
Memmingerberg is a municipality in the district of Unterallgäu in Bavaria, Germany....
near Memmingen
Memmingen
Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border...
, in the Swabia
Swabia (administrative region)
Swabia is one of the seven administrative regions of Bavaria, Germany.- Geography :Swabia is located in southwest Bavaria. It was formed out of the part of the historic region of Swabia which was annexed by Bavaria in 1803. It was once formally ruled by dukes of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. During...
region of Germany. It is the smallest of three commercial airports in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
and has the highest altitude of any commercial airport in Germany. Until 25 September 2008 it was known as Allgäu Airport/Memmingen.
Located about 3.8 km (2.4 mi) from the centre of Memmingen and 110 km (68.4 mi) from the city centre of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, it serves Memmingen and the Allgäu
Allgäu
The Allgäu is a southern German region in Swabia. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia and southeastern Baden-Württemberg. The region stretches from the prealpine lands up to the Alps...
area and also provides a low-cost alternative to Munich Airport: it is marketed as "Munich-West Airport". The airport is located close to the A96 and A7 motorways. The airport can also be reached by local bus from Memmingen Central Station and express buses from Nuremberg, Ingolstadt, Munich and Ulm.
At 110km, "Munich-West Airport" is further than any other airport in Europe from its eponymous city.
Memmingen airport has an Instrument Landing System (ILS)
Instrument Landing System
An instrument landing system is a ground-based instrument approach system that provides precision guidance to an aircraft approaching and landing on a runway, using a combination of radio signals and, in many cases, high-intensity lighting arrays to enable a safe landing during instrument...
Category 1 for runway 24, NDB/DME, GPS RNAV. It is operated by Allgäu Airport GmbH & Co. KG, a limited partnership of several mostly local, medium-sized companies.
History
A military airfield was built at Memmingerberg in 1935. It was used during World War II. After being rebuilt, it was used for US Air Force training flights from 1956. From 1959 to 2003, it was the home base of German Air Force fighter wing 34 ("Allgäu").The airport was certified as a regional commercial airport on 20 July 2004 and commenced operation on 5 August 2004, but there were no scheduled or regular chartered flights. Scheduled flights to the 2005 Hanover Fair were cancelled due to lack of demand. In June 2005, the district of Oberallgäu
Oberallgäu
Oberallgäu is a district in Bavaria, Germany. It is bounded by the districts of Unterallgäu and Ostallgäu, the Austrian states Tyrol and Vorarlberg, the district of Lindau, and the state of Baden-Württemberg...
granted initial finance of €480,000. A further sum of €200,000 was granted by the city of Memmingen
Memmingen
Memmingen is a town in the Bavarian administrative region of Swabia in Germany. It is the central economic, educational and administrative centre in the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the river that marks the Baden-Württemberg border...
after a popular vote on 25 September 2005. In 2006, scheduled flights to Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
and Rostock
Rostock
Rostock -Early history:In the 11th century Polabian Slavs founded a settlement at the Warnow river called Roztoc ; the name Rostock is derived from that designation. The Danish king Valdemar I set the town aflame in 1161.Afterwards the place was settled by German traders...
were planned but cancelled because the carrier became insolvent. In autumn 2006, the air transport company Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter
Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter
LGW is a German regional airline officially known as Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter mbH . Since 2007, LGW has been owned by Air Berlin. The Dortmund based airline transported about 50,000 passengers in 2003 and the expected sales is 13 million Euro in 2004...
offered chartered flights to Dortmund for two months, during which only 100 passengers were carried.
In March 2007, a subsidy of €7,500,000 promised by Bavaria was approved by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
.
On 28 June 2007, TUIfly
TUIfly
TUIfly Vermarktungs GmbH is an airline based at Hannover Airport in Langenhagen, Lower Saxony, Germany. The airline offers both charter and scheduled low-cost flights. About 60% of all seats are sold directly, 30% as a part of a TUI holiday package and 10% by other agencies...
started offering domestic flights and also chartered flights to holiday destinations such as Mallorca
Mallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
, Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
.
Current situation
Although the length of the runway of about 3 km would allow larger planes, the airport's certificate only allows planes with wingspans up to 36 m.Nearly all flights at Memmingen are to or from countries that are members of both the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and the Schengen Agreement
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed on 14 June 1985 near the town of Schengen in Luxembourg, between five of the ten member states of the European Economic Community. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement 5 years later...
. These flights do not require immigration or customs controls, and thus there is no permanent customs office at the airport. Weekly flights from Antalya, Turkey and Kyiv, Ukraine were handled by officers from the Bavarian Forest
Bavarian Forest
thumb|The village of Zell in the Bavarian ForestThe Bavarian Forest is a wooded low-mountain region in Bavaria, Germany. It extends along the Czech border and is continued on the Czech side by the Šumava . Geographically the Bavarian Forest and Bohemian Forest are sections of the same mountain range...
at first and are now, after the airport was granted an exception, handled by customs officers from the region.
In March 2009, Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
announced seven new routes to/from Memmingen starting May 2009. They have continued to announce new routes and from May 2010 Ryanair will operate 14 routes.