Hamburg Airport () , is a major

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, the second-largest city in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Since November 2016 the airport has been named after the former German chancellor Helmut Schmidt. It is located north of the city centre in the Fuhlsbüttel quarter and serves as a hub for Eurowings and focus city for

Condor Condor is the common name for two species of New World vultures, each in a monotypic genus. The name derives from the Quechua language, Quechua ''kuntur''. They are the largest flying land birds in the Western Hemisphere. One species, the And ...

. It was formerly named Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel Airport, a name still frequently used. Hamburg Airport is the fifth-busiest of Germany's commercial airports measured by the number of passengers and counted 13,559,732 passengers and 120,315 aircraft movements in 2023.Traffic Figures
– Official website As of July 2017, it featured flights to more than 130 mostly European metropolitan and leisure destinations as well as two long-haul routes to

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

and

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

. The airport is equipped to handle wide-bodied aircraft including the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...

. Hamburg's other airport, Hamburg Finkenwerder Airport where the

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

factory is located, is not open to commercial traffic.

History

Early years

The airport was opened in January 1911 from private funding by the ''Hamburger Luftschiffhallen GmbH (HLG)'', making it the oldest international airport in the world to still be in operation and the second oldest airport in the country after Tempelhof Airport. The original site comprised 45 hectares, and during its early days was primarily used for

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

flights. In 1913 the site was expanded to 60 hectares, the northern part being used for airship operations while the southeast area was used for fixed-wing aircraft. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the airship hangar was used extensively by the German military, until it was destroyed by fire in 1916. During the British occupation, beginning in 1945, the airport was given its current name, Hamburg Airport. It was used extensively during the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

in 1948 as a staging area, as the northern air corridor went between Hamburg and

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

. When

Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), trading as the Lufthansa Group, is a German aviation group. Its major and founding subsidiary airline Lufthansa German Airlines, branded as Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. It ranks List of largest airlin ...

launched passenger operations in 1955, Hamburg was used as a hub until

Frankfurt Airport Frankfurt Airport ( ) , is Germany's busiest international airport by passenger numbers, located in Frankfurt, Germany's fifth-largest city. Its official name according to the German Aeronautical Information Publication is Frankfurt Main Airpor ...

took over due to growth constraints posed by its location in the city.

Lufthansa Technik Lufthansa Technik AG ('Lufthansa Engineering', often referred to simply as "LHT") is a Germany-based company that provides maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for aircraft, engines, and components. It is a subsidiary of the Lufthansa ...

still maintains a large presence at the airport due to the early activities of the airline at the airport. In October 1959

Pan American World Airways Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and more commonly known as Pan Am, was an airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States for ...

was the first airline to start scheduled service with jet aircraft to Hamburg, the routing was New York –

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

– Hamburg –

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

flown with

Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an early American long-range Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, the initial first flew on Decembe ...

. In the 1960s discussions began with the aim of moving the airport to Heidmoor near Kaltenkirchen. Among the reasons cited were limited expansion possibilities, capacity constraints due to crossing runways, and noise. Lufthansa had introduced the

in 1960, which made more noise than previous piston-engined aircraft. The plans were dropped, owing both to bad experiences in other cities where airports had been moved far from city centres, and to Lufthansa's move to

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. In 1980 Northwest Orient started flights to Hamburg, originating from

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

with a stop in London Gatwick. In 1981 they introduced a second flight from New York JFK via

to Hamburg. All flights were operated with

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a long-range wide-body aircraft, wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2023. After the introduction of the Boeing 707, 707 in October 1958, Pan Am ...

aircraft. After Northwest Orient received traffic rights to serve Frankfurt they discontinued all flights to Hamburg from early 1985. In April 1985

started a daily non-stop flight from New York JFK to Hamburg, operated with

. This was Pan Am's first non-stop service from the US to Hamburg. Starting February 1986 Pan Am also used their new long-range Airbus A310-200 on the route, which made it one of the first

ETOPS The Extended-range Twin-engine Operations Performance Standards (ETOPS) () are safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for Twinjet, twin-engine commercial passenger aircraft operations. They are a safety measu ...

routes across the Atlantic. In 1988 Japan Air Lines suspended their flights from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

to Hamburg after serving the route for 24 years. One year later in 1989

suspended all flights between Hamburg and Tokyo after almost 30 years of service, which was the last route from Hamburg to the far east. In May 1989

American Airlines American Airlines, Inc. is a major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, and is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the ...

started a daily service from New York JFK via

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

to Hamburg, and

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

started a daily service from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

via London Gatwick to Hamburg. American Airlines suspended their service after a year due to shortage of aircraft after the purchase of

Eastern Air Lines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

' South America routes, Delta upgraded the Atlanta flight to a daily non-stop service with an extension to Berlin-Tegel from May 1991, and also served New York JFK – Hamburg from November 1991 after taking over Pan Am's North Atlantic route network.

Development since the 1990s

In March 1990

launched a daily flight from Hamburg to Newark and added another non-stop flight to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

in 1992. This lasted for only one summer season and was then suspended together with the Newark flight in late 1992, which left

alone in this market with their

and New York flights. From early 1993 to late 1994

South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier of South Africa. Founded in 1929 as Union Airways it later rebranded to South African Airways in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannes ...

operated flights from

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

via

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

and

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

to Hamburg. In the mid 90s Delta Air Lines experienced financial troubles and had to consolidate their fleet and route network. Hamburg was among the cities in Europe that were cut completely in late 1995. From 1996 Canada 3000 started summer seasonal flights to Hamburg, and until their bankruptcy in late 2001 they served

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

to Hamburg via Halifax and

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

to Hamburg via

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. In May 1998 Delta Air Lines relaunched daily non-stop flights between Atlanta and Hamburg. However this route only operated until early 2000. A combination of a then too large business class in their Boeing 767-300ER aircraft and the foundation of the

SkyTeam SkyTeam is one of the world's three major airline alliances. Founded in June 2000, SkyTeam was the last of the three alliances to be formed, after Star Alliance and Oneworld. Its annual passenger count is 624 million customers (2024), the second ...

alliance made Delta cancel this service again. In the early 1990s, the airport had begun extensive modernisation. The plan, called ''HAM21'', included a new pier extension, a new terminal (Terminal 1), and the Airport Plaza between Terminals 1 and 2, which includes a consolidated security area. The airport's shareholders are the City of Hamburg and AviAlliance. In May 2005 airTransat started a seasonal flight between

and Hamburg. In June that year

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

started a daily non-stop flight between Newark and Hamburg, Emirates started its then daily

to Hamburg service in March 2006. In 2011

China Eastern Airlines China Eastern Airlines (branded as China Eastern) is a major airline in China, headquartered in Changning, Shanghai, Changning, Shanghai. It is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Southern Airlines. ...

added Hamburg to their route network. However, due to the lack of traffic rights they could only add an extension to their existing

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

flights. The flight initially operated once a week only, and was later increased to twice a week. The stop in Frankfurt and the low frequency did not appeal enough to business travellers so China Eastern suspended the route in 2013. The Radisson Blu Hotel Hamburg Airport was added in 2009, combined with new roadside access and a station with connection to the city's rapid transit system ( Hamburg S-Bahn). In January 2016, TUIfly announced it was leaving Hamburg Airport entirely due to increasing competition from low-cost carriers. While the summer seasonal routes would not resume, all remaining destinations were cancelled by March 2016. A few weeks later, it was officially announced that the airport was to be named after Helmut Schmidt, a former senator of Hamburg and

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of West Germany. On 10 November 2016, the airport was renamed ''Hamburg Airport Helmut Schmidt''. In October 2016, Air Berlin announced the closure of its maintenance facilities at the airport, due to cost-cutting and restructuring measures. In June 2017,

easyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airlin ...

announced it would close its base at Hamburg by March 2018 as part of a refocus on other base airports. While over half of the former services were cut, several routes remained in place as they are served from other easyJet bases. In October 2018,

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

announced the end of its seasonal service to Newark, leaving the airport with only three long-haul routes, all to the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and no direct services to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. The route was inaugurated by

back in 2005 and switched from year-round to seasonal in 2017 Also in October 2018 Emirates switched one of the two daily flights from Dubai to A380-service. This was the first ever commercial A380 service to Hamburg. The second daily flight remains operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. In January 2020,

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...

also closed its Hamburg base due to airport operating costs, late delivery of the Boeing 737-Max aircraft, and its general downsizing of its German operations.

Facilities

Overview

Hamburg Airport originally covered . Since then, the site has grown more than tenfold to . The main apron covers and features 54 parking positions; the passenger terminals provide 17 jet bridges. As of July 2016, the airport had only three routes served with

wide-body aircraft A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft and in the largest cases as a jumbo jet, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is ...

; however, during that year three

gate A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...

s were upgraded with double-jet bridges to provide faster boarding and de-boarding for large planes like the

. The runways, taxiways and aprons can accommodate large aircraft, including the Airbus A380. Emirates replaced one

Boeing 777 The Boeing 777, commonly referred to as the Triple Seven, is an American long-range wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The 777 is the world's largest twinjet and the most-built wide-body airliner. ...

with A380 aircraft on the route. On 28 May 2018, Emirates announced it would commence services from

Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport () is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic as of 2024. It is also the busiest airport in the Middle East as ...

to Hamburg with the A380.

Terminals

Hamburg has two interconnected terminals, Terminal 1 (used by most airlines including those of

Oneworld Oneworld (Computer reservations system, CRS: *O, stylised as oneworld) is a global airline alliance consisting of 14 member airlines. It was founded on 1 February 1999. The alliance's stated objective is to be the first choice airline alliance f ...

and

) and Terminal 2 (

Star Alliance Star Alliance is an airline alliance headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. Founded on 14 May 1997, it was the world's first global airline alliance. Star Alliance has 25 member airlines that operate a combined fleet of over 5,000 aircraft, servi ...

), connected by the Airport Plaza and the baggage claim area that extends through the lower levels of all three buildings. In all buildings level 1 is the departure level with overall 44 departure gates, while level 0 is arrivals and also features ten additional bus gates. Hamburg Airport offers 12 baggage claim belts on the arrivals level. The Airport Plaza hosts the central security check as well as shops, restaurants, lounges and other service facilities. It also houses the suburban railway station.hamburg-airport.de - Map
retrieved 17 April 2024 Terminal 2 (despite its name, the older facility) was completed in 1993, Terminal 1 was completed in 2005 and is highly similar to Terminal 2 in terms of design and size. The main buildings were designed by Gerkan, Marg and Partners. Both terminals have a high, curved ceiling designed to emulate the shape of a wing.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Hamburg Airport:

Statistics

Passengers and movements

Busiest routes

Ground transportation

The airport is around north of Hamburg city centre and south of Norderstedt in the borough of Fuhlsbüttel.

Rail

The S-Bahn Hamburg service S1 departs every ten minutes and connects the airport with Ohlsdorf,

Wandsbek Wandsbek () is the second-largest of seven Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, boroughs that make up the city and state of Hamburg, Germany. The name of the district is derived from the river Wandse which passes through here. Hamburg-Wandsb ...

Hamburg central station Hamburg Hauptbahnhof (abbrev. ''Hamburg Hbf''), or Hamburg Central Railway Station in English, is the main railway station of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Opened in 1906 to replace four separate terminal stations, today Hamburg Hauptbahnhof is ...

, Altona, Blankenese, and Wedel. It is part of the Hamburg transport association (abbreviated as HVV) which is a fare organisation offering tickets for all modes of public transportation in Hamburg. Going towards the airport, the S1 S-Bahn operates as dividing train and splits at Ohlsdorf station, with one part of the train going to the airport and the other going to Poppenbüttel.hamburg-airport.de - Arrival and departure to the airport
retrieved 17 April 2024

Car

By road, the airport can be reached from Federal Motorway A7 via Exit ''Schnelsen'' using the state motorway B433, which is Hamburg's third ring road.

Bus

The airport is also linked by some local bus routes of HVV to nearby areas as well as regular coach services to the cities of

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

and Neumünster.

Incidents and accidents

*On 4–5 November 2023, a hostage incident caused by a custody dispute, wherein an armed man drove onto the tarmac with his 4-year-old daughter in the car, temporarily halted flights at the airport. He parked under a

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...

aircraft demanding to be allowed on board to fly to Turkey with his daughter. He fired a weapon twice in the air and threw two incendiary devices from his car. Authorities said the commercial flight was preparing to take off, forcing the evacuation of everyone on board through a gangway. The authorities believe the cause was a " custody dispute". The incident came three weeks after German federal police received an emailed threat of an attack on an Iran Air flight arriving at the airport. The perpetrator was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by a Hamburg court.

References

External links

Official website
* * {{Authority control Airports established in 1911 Airports in Hamburg Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Nord Gerkan, Marg and Partners buildings 1911 establishments in Germany Helmut Schmidt