History
The airport was opened in January 1911 from private funding by the Hamburger Luftschiffhallen GmbH (HLG), making it the oldest airport in the world which is still in operation. The original site comprised 45 hectares and was primarily used for airship flights in its early days. 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, the airship hangar was used extensively by the 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 in 1948 as a staging area, as the northern air corridor went between Hamburg and West Berlin. When Lufthansa launched passenger operations in 1955, Hamburg was used as a hub until Frankfurt Airport took over due to growth constraints posed by the location in the city. Lufthansa Technik still maintains a large presence at the airport due to the early activities of the airline at the airport.
In the 1960s discussions began with the aim of moving the airport to Heidmoor by Kaltenkirchen. Reasons cited were limited expansion possibilities, capacity constraints due to crossing runways, and noise. Lufthansa had introduced the Boeing 707 in 1960, which made more noise than previous piston engined aircraft. The plans were dropped due to bad experiences in other cities with airports being moved far from city centres and Lufthansa's move to Frankfurt.
In the early 1990s, the airport began an extensive modernization process. The plan, called HAM21, included a new 500 m pier extension, a new terminal (Terminal 1), and the Airport Plaza between Terminals 1 and 2, which includes a consolidated security area. The Radisson Blu Hotel Hamburg Airport was added in 2009, combined with new roadside access and a station and connection to the rapid transit system of Hamburg (S-Bahn).
Read more about this topic: Hamburg Airport
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