Saturday, May 15, 2010

Hahn Airport, Germany

Ryanair is an Irish low-cost carrier that typically uses remote airports, as part of its business model, to keep down costs. When I went to Stockholm last year, Ryanair flew in to Skavsta Airport, near Nyköping, about 100 km (62.5 miles) south of the city. When we went to Milan, our plane flew to Bergamo which is about an hour away.

To get to Frankfurt am Main, Ryanair makes use of the Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. Despite its name, the airport is over 120 km (~75 miles) west of Frankfurt.

What's funny is that the last time I was here, I was in the U.S. Air Force and it was called Hahn Air Base. During the Cold War, Hahn was home to the 50th Fighter Wing as part of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE).

In 1993, the base was turned over to the German government and they turned it in to a regional airport. Now the flightline has Boeing 737s instead of F-16 fighters. And who would have thought all of those years ago that a former NATO base would now be used for commercial flights to Prague?

At least for now...Ryanair announced last week that they are going to pull out of Prague this Fall.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for your service to our country Chris!

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  2. However, for my travel, Hahn Airport was very near to all my destinations: Cochem (45 Km), Trier (68 Km) in the Mosel River; Boppard (46 Km.), Bingen (61 Km.) in the Rhin River

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  3. was stationed there 1974-1976. Remember the First G, Dominik Club and Goldie's Imbiss stand ! Oh for the pommes frites after leaving the club.

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