History
From 1939 to 1992, Munich was served by Munich-Riem airport. First plans to expand or build a new airport were made in 1954 (traffic flow-rate, population density in the proximity). The decision for building the new airport at Erdinger Moos was done on 5 August 1969 by the Bavarian government. When construction started on 3 November 1980, a village named Franzheim was demolished and their ~500 inhabitants were resettled.
The airport commenced operation on 17 May 1992, when operations moved from the former site at Munich-Riem, which was closed shortly before midnight on the day before. As Lufthansa's home base at Frankfurt Airport had capacity limits, Lufthansa established a second hub offering connections through Munich as well as Frankfurt.
In June 2003, Terminal 2 was finished, housing Star Alliance partners exclusively.
Due to the rapid increase in traffic Munich is currently slot constrained and a third runway is now being planned. Not uncommon for such a project, there is considerable opposition from the nearby residents. Lawsuits against the runway have already been announced.
The airport is named after Franz Josef Strauß, who played a prominent, albeit sometimes controversial role in politics of the Federal Republic of Germany from the 1950s until his death in 1988. Among other positions, Strauß was a long-time Minister-President (Governor) of the state of Bavaria, where the airport is located and was initiated under his government. Strauß, having been a private pilot himself, had a particular interest in the aviation industry. He is regarded one of the fathers of Airbus and served as initial chairman of its supervisory board.
Naming the airport by its full name "Flughafen München Franz Josef Strauß" is quite uncommon. The company that owns and operates the airport is named "Flughafen München GmbH" and brands itself as "M - Flughafen München" respectively "M - Munich Airport". In the Munich area, most people use the term "Flughafen München" (Munich Airport), sometimes "Flughafen München II" in order to distinguish from the earlier airport or simply "MUC" for its IATA-code.
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