History

1986 - 1989: Setting a course for the future

1986: The airport celebrates its 75th birthday with an open day. Some 250,000 visitors experience a festival of technology, nostalgia, information and entertainment. Parallel to this plans are laid for an expansion programme with an investment volume of approx. 102 m euros. The project includes the construction of a new terminal; 11 new passenger piers and a new car park. With this project the airport abandons proposals to build a new airport in Kaltenkirchen.

1987: With just over 5.4 million passengers Hamburg Airport breaks the 5 million barrier for the first time and is able to establish its position as Germany’s fourth largest airport. New destinations such as Rome, Moscow, Birmingham and Glasgow are introduced.

1988: After a four year construction period Hamburg Airport turns over the new air traffic control centre to the Federal Administration of Air Navigation Services (Bundesanstalt für Flugsicherung). The yellow tower becomes a distinctive landmark. Three years after launching the service the airline PAN AM greets the 200,000th passenger on its Hamburg-New York route. The airport gets a new fire fighting centre. The building is situated in a central location within the airport’s perimeters. The facility, costing 11 m DM, is equipped with state-of-the-art communication technology to facilitate a quick response.

1989: Additional north Atlantic routes, including services to Atlanta, New York and Chicago, are launched. Work on the construction of the new General Aviation Terminal (GAT) begins. As a result private pilots and commercial aviators will have a terminal; two new hangars with workshops; offices and a dedicated apron at their disposal. An open day is held on 18th June within the scope of the 800th Harbour Birthday celebrations. Hamburg Airport offers 400,000 visitors fun, entertainment and a chance to inspect numerous large aircraft. In July the 3rd Programme for Noise Protection Measures commences. The programme provides grants for the installation of sound-proofed windows in approx. 3,000 residential units in the surrounding area. A total investment of some 9 m euros is planned. The airport operator, Flughafen Hamburg GmbH, achieves a turnover of 103 m euros.

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