2001 to 2010

Picture gallery

A glass Skywalk connects the Dresden Airport Terminal (left) to the multi-storey car park.  Both buildings were opened in 2001
Dresden Airport Terminal (left) and multi-storey car park
Dresden Airport Terminal with Skywalk
Interior of Dresden Airport Terminal, opened in 2001
Opened in 2001, the S-Bahn station on the lower ground floor of the Dresden Airport Terminal was Saxony’s first underground train station 
Opened in 2001, the multi-storey car park is directly opposite the Dresden Airport Terminal
In 2009/10 the multi-storey car park was expanded to about 2,900 spaces
The German Meteorological Service weather radar tower is the architectural landmark on the access road to the Terminal The “Dresden International” logo was launched in 2008
Building the new fire station (2003)
The new fire station was opened in 2003 (photo from 2010)
Installing the roof structure for the helicopter hangar (2006)
The helicopter hangar was opened in 2007
A small aircraft hangar went into operation in 2005
German Air Traffic Control tower under construction (2004)
The German Air Traffic Control tower went into operation in 2005
The new main entrance, Gate 14, was opened in 2006
Flughafen Dresden GmbH built a logistics centre with three warehouses for DB Schenker (1999, 2003, 2005)
EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke opened this new hangar for converting Airbus passenger aircraft to freighters in 2006
Major runway construction project 2006/07: a new runway was built parallel to the old one without disrupting flight operations
Major runway construction project 2006/07: once the new runway was open (left), the old one was torn up
Renovating ramp 2 on the apron (2009)
A 2007 state-of-the-art Panther 8x8 airport fire truck in the Klotzsche 700th anniversary parade (2009)
Dresden Airport took delivery of a fleet of new winter service vehicles in 2009
Busy scene on the tarmac at Dresden Airport (2007)
A section of the fuselage of the world’s biggest passenger airliner, the Airbus A380, is brought to Dresden for fatigue testing (2004)
The cockpit section of a military Airbus A400M is unloaded for fatigue testing at Dresden Airport (A300-600 ST Beluga transporter, early 2010)
The Lufthansa Airbus A380 Frankfurt am Main, the world’s biggest passenger aircraft, landed and took off at Dresden in June 2010 as part of a pilot training exercise
US President Barack Obama landed at Dresden in the presidential jet Air Force One in 2009
Dancing, shopping and fun: the 1st Grand Airport Night took place in the Dresden Airport Terminal in 2008
Blues, Boogie and Swing at the airport: in 2010 the terminal was once again one of the venues for the Dresden International Dixieland Festival, which was held for the 40th time in 2010
The last preserved fuselage of Dresden’s legendary 152 jet aircraft was restored at the EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke and moved to the Dresden Airport Terminal in 2001
Neighbours’ Day 2008: the last preserved fuselage of Dresden’s legendary 152 jet aircraft draws the crowds. 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of its maiden flight
  • A glass Skywalk connects the Dresden Airport Terminal (left) to the multi-storey car park.  Both buildings were opened in 2001
  • Dresden Airport Terminal (left) and multi-storey car park
  • Dresden Airport Terminal with Skywalk
  • Interior of Dresden Airport Terminal, opened in 2001
  • Opened in 2001, the S-Bahn station on the lower ground floor of the Dresden Airport Terminal was Saxony’s first underground train station 
  • Opened in 2001, the multi-storey car park is directly opposite the Dresden Airport Terminal
  • In 2009/10 the multi-storey car park was expanded to about 2,900 spaces
  • The German Meteorological Service weather radar tower is the architectural landmark on the access road to the Terminal The “Dresden International” logo was launched in 2008
  • Building the new fire station (2003)
  • The new fire station was opened in 2003 (photo from 2010)
  • Installing the roof structure for the helicopter hangar (2006)
  • The helicopter hangar was opened in 2007
  • A small aircraft hangar went into operation in 2005
  • German Air Traffic Control tower under construction (2004)
  • The German Air Traffic Control tower went into operation in 2005
  • The new main entrance, Gate 14, was opened in 2006
  • Flughafen Dresden GmbH built a logistics centre with three warehouses for DB Schenker (1999, 2003, 2005)
  • EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke opened this new hangar for converting Airbus passenger aircraft to freighters in 2006
  • Major runway construction project 2006/07: a new runway was built parallel to the old one without disrupting flight operations
  • Major runway construction project 2006/07: once the new runway was open (left), the old one was torn up
  • Renovating ramp 2 on the apron (2009)
  • A 2007 state-of-the-art Panther 8x8 airport fire truck in the Klotzsche 700th anniversary parade (2009)
  • Dresden Airport took delivery of a fleet of new winter service vehicles in 2009
  • Busy scene on the tarmac at Dresden Airport (2007)
  • A section of the fuselage of the world’s biggest passenger airliner, the Airbus A380, is brought to Dresden for fatigue testing (2004)
  • The cockpit section of a military Airbus A400M is unloaded for fatigue testing at Dresden Airport (A300-600 ST Beluga transporter, early 2010)
  • The Lufthansa Airbus A380 Frankfurt am Main, the world’s biggest passenger aircraft, landed and took off at Dresden in June 2010 as part of a pilot training exercise
  • US President Barack Obama landed at Dresden in the presidential jet Air Force One in 2009
  • Dancing, shopping and fun: the 1st Grand Airport Night took place in the Dresden Airport Terminal in 2008
  • Blues, Boogie and Swing at the airport: in 2010 the terminal was once again one of the venues for the Dresden International Dixieland Festival, which was held for the 40th time in 2010
  • The last preserved fuselage of Dresden’s legendary 152 jet aircraft was restored at the EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke and moved to the Dresden Airport Terminal in 2001
  • Neighbours’ Day 2008: the last preserved fuselage of Dresden’s legendary 152 jet aircraft draws the crowds. 2008 marked the 50th anniversary of its maiden flight
 

More modern and more efficient than ever before: the new Dresden Airport

The new terminal building was opened in March 2001. With its industrial architecture, it is regarded as one of the most attractive of its kind in Germany. Dresden Airport S-Bahn station - Saxony’s first and only underground railway station - a multi-storey car park with around 1500 parking spaces and the new aircraft handling ramp 3 opened for business at the same time. A futuristic glazed Skywalk was built to connect the multi-storey car park with the terminal building, making the shortest distance between the car park and the check-in desks just 120 metres. The new weather radar tower, the architectural landmark on the access road to the terminal, won the City of Dresden’s Erlwein Prize in 2001.

Construction cranes continued to rotate at the airport over the next few years. A new fire station was built (2003), followed by a new air traffic control tower and a new small aircraft hangar (2005), a new main entrance (gate 14) to the security area (2006), a helicopter hangar for the police and the German Air Rescue Service (2007) and a logistics centre with three warehouses for DB Schenker (1999, 2003, 2005). The runway reconstruction project was a logistical masterpiece. In 2006/07 Dresden Airport completely overhauled its runway and extended it by 350 metres to 2850 metres, becoming the first airport in Europe to carry out a project of this kind while remaining operational. The first scheduled aircraft to use the new runway was a Lufthansa Boeing 737-500, which took off for Frankfurt on the morning of 30 August 2007. The old runway was torn up and greened over.



Dresden International on You Tube

Image gallery: Renovation and extension of the runway

28 July 2006: Ground-breaking ceremony with General Manager Dr Michael Hupe, Saxon Minister of State for Labour and Economic Affairs Thomas Jurk and Saxony-Anhalt Permanent Secretary for State Development and Transport Dr Hans-Joachim Gottschalk
September 2006: The airport perimeter road is relocated and a new bridge is built over the Schelsbach
March 2007: A 10-metre-wide concrete strip of the old, still operational runway is torn up
April 2007: Earthworks and civil engineering works
Spring 2007: The torn up concrete is broken up
June 2007: Concreting the new runway 
June 2007: Concreting the new runway
June 2007: Concreting the new runway
June 2007: Concreting the new runway
June 2007: Concreting the new runway while flights continue on the old one
June 2007: Concreting the new runway
Concrete being delivered for the new runway
The airport fire brigade cools down the fresh concrete
Taxiway E is connected to the new runway
Work at the Weixdorf end of the runway, now extended to 2850 metres
Installing the localizer array
Recesses for navigation lights
Testing the navigation lights
Lighting is installed along the new runway
Line marking
August 2007: the new runway on the right, shortly before commissioning, with the old runway still in use on the left
30 August 2007: First scheduled landing on the new runway (Air Via Airways MD 82 from Varna)
30 August 2007: First scheduled departure from the new runway (Lufthansa Boeing 737-500 Limburg to Frankfurt). Petra Siebert (Dresden Airport) and Thomas Stumph (Lufthansa) presented the crew with flowers and gifts
30 August 2007: Lufthansa flight LH 1051 about to depart for Frankfurt. The Boeing 737-500 Limburg is the first plane to officially take off from the new runway
30 August 2007: Lufthansa flight LH 1051 taking off for Frankfurt. The Boeing 737-500 Limburg is the first plane to take off from the new runway
Official opening, 6 Sept 2007, Markus Kopp (Chairman, Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding), Willi Hermsen (Supervisory Board Chairman, Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding), Saxony Minister-President Prof Dr Georg Milbradt, Dresden Airport General Manager Dr Michael Hupe
6 September 2007: Albrecht Nollau, Superintendent of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Saxony (left), and Klemens Ullmann, Dean of the Catholic Church of the diocese of Dresden-Meissen, bless a drill core taken from the edge of the new runway
Air show marking the official opening on 6 September 2007
Official opening on 6 September 2007 with historic small aircraft and balloons
Autumn 2007: Demolishing the old runway (right) after opening the new one
After the old runway was demolished, the space created was greened over (picture taken in September 2008)
  • 28 July 2006: Ground-breaking ceremony with General Manager Dr Michael Hupe, Saxon Minister of State for Labour and Economic Affairs Thomas Jurk and Saxony-Anhalt Permanent Secretary for State Development and Transport Dr Hans-Joachim Gottschalk
  • September 2006: The airport perimeter road is relocated and a new bridge is built over the Schelsbach
  • March 2007: A 10-metre-wide concrete strip of the old, still operational runway is torn up
  • April 2007: Earthworks and civil engineering works
  • Spring 2007: The torn up concrete is broken up
  • June 2007: Concreting the new runway 
  • June 2007: Concreting the new runway
  • June 2007: Concreting the new runway
  • June 2007: Concreting the new runway
  • June 2007: Concreting the new runway while flights continue on the old one
  • June 2007: Concreting the new runway
  • Concrete being delivered for the new runway
  • The airport fire brigade cools down the fresh concrete
  • Taxiway E is connected to the new runway
  • Work at the Weixdorf end of the runway, now extended to 2850 metres
  • Installing the localizer array
  • Recesses for navigation lights
  • Testing the navigation lights
  • Lighting is installed along the new runway
  • Line marking
  • August 2007: the new runway on the right, shortly before commissioning, with the old runway still in use on the left
  • 30 August 2007: First scheduled landing on the new runway (Air Via Airways MD 82 from Varna)
  • 30 August 2007: First scheduled departure from the new runway (Lufthansa Boeing 737-500 Limburg to Frankfurt). Petra Siebert (Dresden Airport) and Thomas Stumph (Lufthansa) presented the crew with flowers and gifts
  • 30 August 2007: Lufthansa flight LH 1051 about to depart for Frankfurt. The Boeing 737-500 Limburg is the first plane to officially take off from the new runway
  • 30 August 2007: Lufthansa flight LH 1051 taking off for Frankfurt. The Boeing 737-500 Limburg is the first plane to take off from the new runway
  • Official opening, 6 Sept 2007, Markus Kopp (Chairman, Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding), Willi Hermsen (Supervisory Board Chairman, Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding), Saxony Minister-President Prof Dr Georg Milbradt, Dresden Airport General Manager Dr Michael Hupe
  • 6 September 2007: Albrecht Nollau, Superintendent of the Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Saxony (left), and Klemens Ullmann, Dean of the Catholic Church of the diocese of Dresden-Meissen, bless a drill core taken from the edge of the new runway
  • Air show marking the official opening on 6 September 2007
  • Official opening on 6 September 2007 with historic small aircraft and balloons
  • Autumn 2007: Demolishing the old runway (right) after opening the new one
  • After the old runway was demolished, the space created was greened over (picture taken in September 2008)
 

In 2009, in which the local district of Klotzsche celebrated its 700th anniversary, the airport renovated its ramp 2 and extended the multi-storey car park with 1300 more parking spaces, bringing the total to around 2,900 (completed in June 2010). The airport has also invested heavily in modern technology for the airport fire service, the Winter Service and passenger handling facilities. It pioneered the use of the state-of-the-art Panther 8x8 firefighting vehicle (2007) and CUSS (Common Use Self Service) self-check-in kiosks, which can be used by several different airlines simultaneously instead of just one per kiosk.

The shopping and eating facilities and the events portfolio at the terminal have also been expanded. Among the popular events hosted by the airport are Airport Night, which started in 2008, the regular Family Days, Travel Days and concerts in the Dixieland Festival and Dresden Jazz Days series. Dresden Airport has been boosting its reputation among regional and international customers as an exclusive venue for exhibitions and conferences. In service surveys it is consistently rated good or very good by passengers and visitors.

In 2009 there were almost 3,000 people working at Dresden International Airport, many of whom are employed by the many long-established aviation firms here. This industry has also been investing in modernising and expanding its facilities in recent years, returning Dresden to its standing as one of Germany’s most important aviation locations. EADS Elbe Flugzeugwerke, which converts Airbus passenger aircraft to cargo planes, opened its hangar stand 6 in 2006. In 2007/2008 it extended its hall 285 to accommodate Airbus A330s. In a specially constructed hangar, IABG Industrieanlagen Betriebsgesellschaft and IMA Materialforschung und Anwendungstechnik have been running material fatigue tests on the world’s biggest and most modern passenger aircraft, the Airbus A380-800, since 2005. Next to this test hanger IABG built another building for fatigue testing the Airbus A400M military transporter; these operations are set to get under way in 2010.

In 2008 the airport, the aviation companies based here and the Dresden Transport Museum celebrated the 50th anniversary of the maiden flight of the 152 passenger jet. The development of this legendary aircraft laid the foundation for the highly successful present-day aviation industry in Dresden.



Dresden International on You Tube

 

After years of intensive building work, Dresden now boasts one of Germany’s most modern and efficient airports. It is used by up to 1.86 million passengers per year (2008), and more than 15 million have passed through since the new terminal was opened. Among the VIPs who have used Dresden are guests of state like US President Barack Obama, the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the Danish Queen Margrethe II, and Prince Albert II of Monaco.

Besides Obama’s government jet Air Force One, Dresden Airport has recently played host to the Airbus A380 on touch and go flights and, on several occasions, the imposing Airbus A300-600 ST Beluga transporter.

Illustration: A journey through the history of aviation in Dresden

Click on the image to download (PDF file, 455 kB, German only)