Dresden Airport

Dresden Airport Flughafen Dresden
IATA: DRS – ICAO: EDDC DRS Location of airport in Saxony
Summary
Airport type		Public
Location		Dresden, Germany
Elevation AMSL		754 ft / 230 m
Coordinates		51°08′04″N 13°46′05″E / 51.13444°N 13.76806°E / 51.13444; 13.76806 (Dresden Airport)Coordinates: 51°08′04″N 13°46′05″E / 51.13444°N 13.76806°E / 51.13444; 13.76806 (Dresden Airport)
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
04/22	2,850	9,351	Concrete
Helipads
Number	Length		Surface
	m	ft
H1	30	98	Concrete/Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Passengers			1,722,926
Aircraft movements			34,798
Sources: AIP at EUROCONTROL,[1] Annual Traffic Report 2009[2]

Interior view of the terminal building

Dresden Airport (IATA: DRS, ICAO: EDDC), formerly known as Flughafen Dresden-Klotzsche in German, is the international airport of Dresden, Germany. It is located in Klotzsche, a district of Dresden 9 km (5.6 mi) north^[1] of the city centre. The airport rebranded itself as "Dresden International" in September 2008.

In 2008, 1,860,364 passengers passed through the airport, an increase of 0.3% over the previous year and a record for the airport. In the same year, there were 36,968 takeoffs and landings, an increase of 2.3% over the previous year.^[3]

Dresden Airport is home to EADS EFW, a business unit of EADS. Lufthansa Airport Services Dresden GmbH (LASD), a subsidiary of Lufthansa, and AHS (Aviation Handling Services) provide passenger services at the airport. The general aviation services are offered by the airport itself.

History

The airport was opened to commercial traffic on 11 July 1935.^[4]

Though planned as a commercial airport, its importance to the military increased dramatically during the following years in the Third Reich. During World War II it was exclusively used for military purposes. An airlift between the airport and Breslau was established to support german troops during the Siege of Breslau in spring of 1945. Attempts to destroy buildings and equipment before the Allied troops could occupy Dresden failed due to the resistance of civil airport employees.

During the following years, the airport was used as an education centre for the Soviet army. It was reopened for commercial traffic on 16 June 1957. In 1959 international air traffic resumed, primarily to countries of the Eastern Bloc.

Between 1955 and 1961, the East German government decided to develop its own aviation industry centred on Dresden. Although this development ultimately failed, it increased the importance of Klotzsche Airport considerably, and has shaped the design and atmosphere of the airport right up until today.^[4]

After German reunification, the airport was expanded and flights to western European capitals were added. Traffic increased sevenfold during the first half of the 1990s and a second terminal was opened in 1995.

In 2001 the current terminal was added. This was rebuilt from a hangar formerly used as an assembly hall by the aircraft industry.^[4]

Ground transport

Public transport

Dresden Airport railway station is situated in the basement of the terminal building. It is served by trains on line S2 of the Dresden S-Bahn, which provide a half-hourly link to Dresden-Neustadt and Dresden Hauptbahnhof stations in the centre of Dresden, with journey times of 13 and 23 minutes respectively. On weekdays the trains continue to the towns of Heidenau and Pirna.^[5]

Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB) bus route 77 provides a link from the airport to DVB tram route 7, which provides an alternative route to central Dresden. DVB bus route 97 links the airport to the district of Hellerau. Regional bus route 425 connects the airport with the towns of Boxdorf and Radebeul.^[5]

The airport is within the Verkehrsverbund Oberelbe's Dresden tariff zone, as is central Dresden, and a single ticket (currently priced at €2.00) is valid on the S-Bahn, trams and buses within that zone. Other tariff zones cover the surrounding towns as far as Meissen and the Czech border. Tickets can be obtained at ticket vending machines in the station, at the bus stop, or at the airport information desk on the Arrivals level of the terminal.^[5]

Road transport

Dresden Airport is situated some 9 km (5.6 mi) north^[1] of the centre of Dresden. The direct journey, on city streets, takes about 20 minutes. The current taxi fare varies from €16 to €18.^[6]

The airport is served by an adjacent junction on the A4 Autobahn, which by-passes central Dresden on its route from Aachen, on the Dutch border, to Görlitz, on the Polish border. Junctions in the Dresden area connect the A4 to the A13, to Berlin, and the A17, to the Czech border and Prague.^[6]

The airport features a multi-storey car park with approximately 1,500 spaces, connected to the terminal building by a glass-covered pedestrian bridge. Additionally, there are three long-stay car parks, and a short-stay car park right next to the terminal access.^[7]

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Adria Airways	Hamburg, Zurich
Aeroflot	Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Air Berlin	Düsseldorf, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Antalya, Corfu, Enfidha, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Kos, Nuremberg, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Sharm el-Sheikh, Thessaloniki
Air Via	Seasonal: Burgas [begins 31 May 2012], Varna [begins 30 May 2012]
Atlasjet	Seasonal: Antalya
Bulgarian Air Charter	Burgas Seasonal: Varna
Cirrus Airlines	Hamburg, Vienna, Zürich
Condor	Antalya
EasyJet Switzerland	Basel/Mulhouse
Germania	Seasonal: Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Rhodos, Kos, Antalya, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Germanwings	Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart Seasonal: Corfu [begins 12 May 2012]
Hamburg Airways	Fuerteventura, Hurghada, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Aqaba, Debrecen, Heraklion [begins 11 May 2012], Kos [begins 19 May 2012], Rhodos [begins 17 May 2012], Sarmellek Balaton
Lufthansa	Frankfurt
Lufthansa Regional operated by Augsburg Airways	Munich
Lufthansa Regional operated by Contact Air	Düsseldorf
Lufthansa Regional operated by Lufthansa CityLine	Munich, London-Heathrow
Pegasus Airlines	Seasonal:Antalya
Sky Airlines	Seasonal:Antalya
SunExpress	Antalya
Tailwind	Seasonal:Antalya
Tunisair	Monastir, Enfidha
XL Airways	Burgas, Varna

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} EAD Basic
2. ^ Annual Traffic Report 2009
3. ^ "Flughaven Dresden - Press release - 2008 traffic report". Flughafen Dresden GmbH. 2009-01-19. http://www.dresden-airport.de/en/struktur/presse/pressemitteilungen/pmDetail.html?id=1011. Retrieved 2009-04-08. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} "Flughaven Dresden - History of the airport". Flughafen Dresden GmbH. http://www.dresden-airport.de/en/reisende_und_besucher/willkommen/geschichte.html. Retrieved 2009-04-08. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "Flughaven Dresden - Public transport". Flughafen Dresden GmbH. http://www.dresden-airport.de/en/reisende_und_besucher/an_und_abreise/nahverkehr.html. Retrieved 2009-04-07. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Flughaven Dresden - Car and taxi". Flughafen Dresden GmbH. http://www.dresden-airport.de/en/reisende_und_besucher/an_und_abreise/pkw.html. Retrieved 2009-04-07. 
7. ^ "Flughaven Dresden - Parking". Flughafen Dresden GmbH. http://www.dresden-airport.de/en/reisende_und_besucher/an_und_abreise/parken.html. Retrieved 2009-04-07. 

External links

• Dresden Airport Homepage
• Gateway to General Aviation services
• Lufthansa Airport Services Dresden (LASD)
• Current weather for EDDC at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for DRS at Aviation Safety Network