History

1996 - 1999: Social commitment and culture

1996: On 1st July Hamburg Airport opens a special shopping centre. Terminal 3 (today the site of the Airport Plaza) becomes a holiday terminal, with 18 tour operators, travel agents and last-minute shops located in a retail area covering some 2,000 m².
With 8.2 million passengers the ACI airport association’s “Airports International Top 100” now ranks Hamburg Airport the 91st airport worldwide.

1997: Hamburg Airport goes on line for the first time on 30th June with the www.ham.airport.de website.
In March the airport brings Hollywood to the Hanseatic city: a scene from the James Bond film “Tomorrow never dies”, with Pierce Brosnan as 007, is filmed in Terminal 4 (now Terminal 2).
On 6th May an Airbus A300-600 delivers a five metre tall bronze sculpture by American artist Osprey O. Lake from San Francisco to Hamburg. The monument to peace between the peoples of the world, “Cheemah Spirit Monument” is unveiled on 22nd May.

1998: “Business Traveller” magazine declares Hamburg Airport the third best in Germany, following directly after Frankfurt and Munich Airports.
In May Delta Airlines launches a daily non-stop service between Hamburg and Atlanta.
In December the airport welcomes the 9 millionth passenger of the year.

1999: The 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift is celebrated on 26th June. Hamburg Airport also participated in this airlift, even after the end of the war, with regular flights to Berlin. Douglas DC-3 aircraft, known as “raisin bombers”, supplied the city of Berlin with essential every day items by air.
Hamburg Airport celebrates 80 years of regular scheduled flights from the city. The first “Hamburg Airport Classics” aviation show on the 5th and 6th June is the highlight of the anniversary celebrations. 35,000 visitors admire 24 vintage aircraft as they fly over the airport. Lufthansa Technik (LHT) donates its former training aeroplane, a Boeing 707-430, to Hamburg Airport for the symbolic price of 1 euro. This vintage aircraft begins a new life as a museum plane.
The model airport show celebrates its 40th anniversary and Belgian airline Sabena turns 70. The airline launched its Hamburg-Brussels service on 29th April 1929, thus making it one of Hamburg’s oldest routes.
Hamburg Airport is the first European airport to be awarded an Eco Certificate for its environmental management. This certificate is based on strict EU norms. The award recognises the airport’s exemplary commitment in the fields of waste disposal, energy supply, water and air protection as well as its procedures to prevent bird strikes.
The annual profit of some 25.5 million euros is also an extraordinary success.

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