Bangkok--Oct 14---eTurboNews
The US Air Force has closed its Rhein-Main airbase in Germany, making way for an ambitious expansion plan at Frankfurt Airport.
The closure of the base, the Americans' main gateway to Europe for 60 years, marks the end of an era in aviation history.
The site had been the home base of the Graf Zeppelin air ship back in 1909 and the ill-fated Hindenburg. Rhein-Main was used in the Second World War by the Luftwaffe for testing its Messerschmitt jet aircraft. The airfield was bombed repeatedly by Allied forces in 1945 and was occupied by the US Air at the end of the war.
Rhein-Main was crucial for the operation known as the Berlin Airlift during the post-war period when the divided city became an enclave within Communist East Germany. The base became the hub of US Air Force operations in Europe and played a vital role in Iraq war logistics.
The change in the political landscape and the ending of the Cold War was the signal to start negotiations on handing back the airfield to civilian use. US Air Force operations have been relocated to Ramstein and the site is being incorporated into the adjacent Frankfurt Airport.
The operating company, Fraport AG, has held an international architectural competition for the design of a new Terminal 3 to be built on the site, to the south of existing facilities. Part of the site vacated earlier by the USAF has already been used for cargo operations and is known as Cargo City South.
Once all planning approvals have been granted by the regional government authorities, the new terminal will be built in stages from 2007, the first phase due to open in 2012. By 2015, it is expected that Frankfurt will have the capacity to handle 25 million passengers a year and challenge Munich as Germany's busiest airport.
Plans are also advanced for an estate of former US forces' accommodation - known as Gateway Gardens - to the north of the airport, to be given a facelift and commercial development with new offices and hotels.
Fraport has earmarked 3.46 billion euros for expansion of Frankfurt Airport, which makes it the largest private investment program in Germany. It includes an extra runway, to be used for landing only, which will be built over a nearby Autobahn (highway). It will enable Frankfurt to increase its traffic volume.
The expansion is much needed. The facilities at Frankfurt are already running at capacity, so much so that it has come to be known as "the smallest major airport in the world". In the meantime, the city of Frankfurt has grown as an international business and financial center. In September, passenger numbers were just short of 5 million, an increase of 2.6 percent on the same month last year. European traffic generated the most noticeable increase, but there was also strong growth in flights to South Africa and the Middle East.
The airport operator, Fraport, also owns the Frankfurt's secondary airport, Hahn, which is popular with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair. Fraport also have a major interest in Hanover and also operate Lima Airport in Peru and Cairo, Egypt's international airport. End.