Mannheim City Airport

Mannheim City Airport Flughafen Mannheim
IATA: MHG – ICAO: EDFM
Summary
Operator		Rhein-Neckar Flugplatz GmbH
Location		Mannheim
Elevation AMSL		309 ft / 94 m
Coordinates		49°28′21″N 08°30′51″E / 49.4725°N 8.51417°E / 49.4725; 8.51417Coordinates: 49°28′21″N 08°30′51″E / 49.4725°N 8.51417°E / 49.4725; 8.51417
Website		www.flugplatz-mannheim.de
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
09/27	3,497	1,066	Asphalt
09/27	2,297	700	Grass

Mannheim City Airport (IATA: MHG, ICAO: EDFM) (formerly Mannheim-Neuostheim) serves Mannheim, Germany. It is operated and administrated by Rhein-Neckar Flugplatz GmbH.

Location

The airport is located 3.5 km (2.2 mi) east of the city center in the district of Neuostheim.

It is surrounded by highways to the east (B38a) and the south (B37/A656), there is a power transmission line to the east and several high rise buildings to the west making Mannheim City a challenging airport. Because of its proximity to the city center and the lack of space for an expansion, there have been continuous discussions about relocating the airport. The airport has its own control zone, neighboring control zones are Heidelberg Airfield and Coleman.

Runways

The airport possesses two runways: one paved main runway (09/27) and a parallel grass runway (for gliding and ballooning only). The airport is in operation at day and night. The paved runway 09/27 offers PAPI and illumination in both directions, RWY 27 offers LLZ/DME approach, but no ILS, RWY 09 is usable under visual flight rules only. A separate, illuminated and signposted taxiway is available. Aircraft up to 10,000 kg (22,046 lb) are allowed to land at the airport. Due to numerous obstacles around the airport and the short runways, Mannheim does not comply with IFALPA standards, thus the airport is given an unsatisfactory "red star" every year from the German Airline Pilot’s Association (Vereinigung Cockpit), along with few other regional airports.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Cirrus Airlines	Berlin-Tegel

Other air traffic

• The airport is mainly used for general aviation. 18 companies, such as SAP AG, Roche Diagnostics, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen or Bilfinger Berger have their business jets based at MHG, which cover routes within Europe and even to North America.
• The aerodrome also serves as an important heliport for medevac or VIP transports. 50% of all night movements are ambulance flights. DRF (Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht, e. V.) is present with a 24h/365days medevac helicopter.
• Two flying schools (FTC Euroflight and LGM) and two Aero Clubs (Badisch Pfälzischer Flugsportverein and Segelflugverein Mannheim) are established at Mannheim.
• There is seasonal glider activity.
• Business airlines serving Mannheim regularly are: Cirrus Aviation, EAS Executive AirService, ATB Flugdienst GmbH and Business Wings.

Terminal building & other facilities

The sand-lime brick designed terminal building, built by architect Prof. Peter Serini, opened in 1998. In its arched central section it offers two check-in counters, a security passenger checkpoint, a waiting area, a baggage claim area, a ticketing office and an electronic flight schedule. In addition it accommodates a snack-bar, airline offices, a police station and a flying school. The terminal is topped by a new control tower. On the airside, lucent blue capital letters form the word "Mannheim". A secured, partly free carpark is available. The tram lines 5 and 6 connect the airport with the city center within 10 minutes. An electronic Lufthansa check-in counter was removed again, after the liquidation of Team Lufthansa. Since January, 2007 passengers can check-in only 20 minutes prior scheduled departure [1]. Close to the current terminal, there are parts of the former terminal building, including the old tower, now used as a popular restaurant and biergarten (Lindbergh). Beside the old terminal a fitness club (Pfitzenmeier) opened its doors in 2000. A pilot shop (Friebe Luftfahrtbedarf) can be found next to the parking deck. Cirrus Technik operated a maintenance facility for Dornier Do 328 turboprop aircraft [2], which moved to Saarbrücken at the end of 2009.

• Jet A-1 and Avgas 100LL are the available fuels.
• ground power is available
• The airport has its own fire brigade, equipped with a fire engine (FLF Impact 6000) suited to the present operations.
• Catering is currently provided by Lindbergh restaurant.
• Customs and Police are available

Frequencies

• Langen Radar: 129.350
• Mannheim Tower: 129.775
• Mannheim Tower: 122.500 (stby frequency)
• Weather ATIS: 136.550

History

Aviation in Mannheim started with the airship constructors Schütte-Lanz in 1909. Their first airship, called SL 1, lifted off from Mannheim-Rheinau in 1911. With the growing importance of airships for military purposes, a new airfield with hangars and barracks was opened in the north of Mannheim, where the Schönau district is located today. By the end of World War I, 22 airships had been built in Mannheim. In 1922 all hangars had to be demolished, complying with the conditions imposed by the treaty of Versailles.

The first commercial airport in Mannheim was founded on May 16, 1925 as Flughafen Mannheim-Heidelberg-Ludwigshafen in the northern district of Sandhofen.[3] With its opening Mannheim became part of an important air track, running from north to south and viceversa. In the late 1920s and early 1930s Deutsche Aero Lloyd operated cargo and passenger flights from Hamburg to Zurich stopping in Mannheim. Balair from Switzerland flew between Geneva and Amsterdam via Basel, Mannheim, Frankfurt and Essen. Badisch-Pfälzische Luftverkehrs A.G operated the black forest route to Konstanz, via Karlsruhe, Baden Baden and Villingen.[4]

In 1926 the airfield was transferred to Mannheim-Neuostheim, its present site. The same year Deutsche Luft Hansa was founded in Berlin. A Luft Hansa route map of the 1930s shows scheduled flights from Mannheim to Frankfurt via Darmstadt and other destinations, like Stuttgart, Saarbrücken and Konstanz. In 1939 Luft Hansa flew nonstop to the capital Berlin using various Junkers aircraft.

During World War II the airport was severely damaged. After the war the airport was occupied by the US-Army and temporarily used as a transmitter site. [5] The terminal building and hangars were partly demolished and partly refurbished. The airfield was reopened to the public in 1958, but with the growing size of postwar aircraft, Mannheim-Neuostheim was no longer served by any major airline and mainly used for private flying.

In 1986, DRF (Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht, e. V.) installed an helicopter air rescue center at MHG [6]. Scheduled passenger flights did not start again until the 1980s when Arcus-Air Logistic operated flights between Mannheim and Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, using Dornier Do 228 aircraft. These flights were offered up to three times daily, depending on demand [7]. Besides cargo flights the airline added three weekly passenger flights to Leipzig and Dresden in 1991 [8]. In 1997 Cosmos Air (Arcus-Air Logistic) was founded in Mannheim and started nonstop flights to Tempelhof International Airport[9] and London City Airport[10] using the larger Dornier Do 328 turboprop. Due to lack of demand, the London route was suspended one year later.

Up until that time, a provisional container building had been used as the terminal, but new facilities opened in 1998. The largest aircraft that ever landed at Mannheim City, a Transall of the German Air Force, came on a special flight in 1998. In 1999 Cosmos Air was taken over by Cirrus Airlines, continuing the flights to Berlin and opening other new routes. With the entry of Cirrus Airlines into Team Lufthansa in 2000, the crane came back to Mannheim after 60 years of absence. Cirrus Airlines left Team Lufthansa in 2004 and is now flying as an official Lufthansa Partner, with Mannheim appearing in the official Lufthansa itinerary. In 2002 Mannheim-Neuostheim was officially renamed Mannheim City Airport. In 2006, the airport celebrated its 80th birthday. On July 17, 2007 the two millionth passenger of Cirrus Airlines was welcomed at MHG. In October 2008 Cirrus Airlines started new flights from MHG to Munich, connecting the city to one of the Lufthansa main hubs. However, this service consisted for only four months [11]. The last ever scheduled flight leaving the historic airport of Berlin-Tempelhof was a Cirrus Airlines flight to Mannheim. After 10 years connecting Mannheim with Berlin, a Cirrus Airlines Dornier Do 328 was given the name of "Mannheim" in September 2009. In August 2010, the Mannheim-Hamburg service celebrated its 10th anniversary, but due to hard competition coming from Frankfurt International Airport on this route, Cirrus Airlines had to discontinue it on November 26, 2010, leaving a huge gap in local commercial aviation [12].

Previous carriers and destinations

• Air-Supply (Frankfurt)
• Air Pegasus GmbH (Munich)
• Arcus-Air Logistic (Munich-Oberpfaffenhofen, Leipzig, Dresden, Bern, Prague, Hamburg) Do-228
• Cosmos Air (Berlin-Tempelhof, London-City) Do-328
• Cirrus Airlines (Dresden, Olbia, Kiel, Berlin-Tempelhof, Munich, Hamburg) Do-328, Dash-8, Beech King Air
• Team Lufthansa-operated by Cirrus Airlines (Hamburg, Berlin-Tempelhof, Saarbrücken) Do-328, Dash-8

Accidents and incidents

• November 12, 1937: ten people are killed in a Deutsche Lufthansa Heinkel He-111 (registered D-AXAV) crash, the cause of which remained unknown.[13], [14].
• September 11, 1982: a Chinook CH-47C helicopter of the U.S. Army crashes onto highway A656 during an airshow, killing 46 people [15].
• August 4, 1993: after an engine failure, a Do-27 crashes into a garden plot right after take-off, four occupants die.
• December 5, 1994: a SAR Bell UH-1 helicopter of the German Army crashes into the nearby TV-tower during a foggy night, plunging into the river Neckar and killing all four aboard. (Accident happened close by (2.25 km), but didn't take off from MHG nor was it supposed to land at MHG)
• November 29, 1996: approaching MHG, a two-engined Piper crashes into a mountain near Dossenheim after a flight from Prague.
• February 21, 2002: A Beech B35 plane crashes into a garden plot after go-around, killing the pilot.
• March 19, 2008: Cirrus flight 1569 from Berlin-Tempelhof overshoots runway 27 and comes to rest on a well close to a highway. Nobody of the 27 on board is hurt, but the aircraft, a Dornier Do 328 (D-CTOB), is severely damaged [16].

The future

Due to its problematic geographical location, an extension of the airport has become impossible, preventing modern regional jets, such as the Canadair Regional Jet or the Embraer 145, from operating from MHG. With the introduction of the new JAR-OPS 2 regulation, strict weight restrictions have been imposed, allowing only smaller and lighter airplanes to land at MHG. From 2014 on, even thighter restrictions on behalf of the EASA will become effective in Europe, which will probably bring a further impact on commercial air traffic. After a first accident involving a scheduled passenger flight on March 19, 2008 and the growing lack of airlines with the adequate equipment to fly into MHG, discussions about a relocation of the airport have regained political importance. With its coming closure in 2015, Coleman Airfield is seen as a possible, but challenging alternative, as well as the airport of Speyer, where BASF has its corporate jets based..

Over that, Mannheim is connected to world air traffic above-average: Frankfurt International Airport, Frankfurt Hahn Airport, Stuttgart Airport, Strasbourg Airport, Baden Airpark, Zweibrücken Airport and Saarbrücken Airport can be reached within maximum an hour and a half by car or train.

However, concerning business aviation, Mannheim still remains an attractive location: two new hangars for up to three jets have been built in 2006.

Passenger Volume

The passenger volume ranged between only 10.000 and 20.000 passengers per year from 1990 till 1997. With the opening of the new terminal numbers increased rapidly, dispatching 70.000 passengers in 2000 and 86.000 in 2004. In 2005 the number of handeld passengers went back to 68.500, dropping further down to 48.900 passengers in 2010.

Gallery

• 

  the old terminal, now a biergarten, seen from the parking deck

• 

  Dornier Do 328 approaching runway 09

• 

  business jets parked on the apron

• 

  arched roof of the check-in area

• 

  Cirrus Airlines operates daily scheduled flights

• 

  several flying schools are established at MHG

• 

  large companies have their business jets based at MHG

External links

• Official site (German)
• Airport information for EDFM at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.
• expertise of the three Rhine-Neckar airports (German)
• Friebe pilot shop (German/English)
• Cirrus Airlines
• LGM- Luftfahrtgesellschaft Mannheim GmbH
• Lindbergh Restaurant Mannheim Airport