Magdeburg–Cochstedt Airport is a minor unscheduled

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...

located in Cochstedt,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. It is located approximately southwest of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, capital of the Bundesland

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

, and about 190 km (118 miles) west from the center of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. As of 1 September 2016, the airport had been closed by the authorities and sold as a testing facility to the

German Aerospace Center The German Aerospace Center (german: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V., abbreviated DLR, literally ''German Center for Air- and Space-flight'') is the national center for aerospace, energy and transportation research of Germany ...

in 2019.

History

The airport Cochstedt dates from the year 1957, when an air force base of the Soviet troops was established. In 1968, the runway extension was completed and airport logistics operation expanded. After German reunification and the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the first steps for continued existence as a civil airport were taken. On 26 May 1994 the airport was given an operating license as a commercial airport with

class D airspace The world's navigable airspace is divided into three-dimensional segments, each of which is assigned to a specific class. Most nations adhere to the classification specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and described be ...

and full day and night operation. From November 1997 until early 1999 the operations were suspended due to a complete refurbishment of the airport, including runway, apron, taxiways, control tower. In June 2000, an

instrument landing system In aviation, the instrument landing system (ILS) is a precision radio navigation system that provides short-range guidance to aircraft to allow them to approach a runway at night or in bad weather. In its original form, it allows an aircraft to ...

(ILS) Category I and a high-performance approach lights were put into operation allowing the operation under instrument flying rules. In the summer of 2001 a new fire station was put into operation and the construction of a new terminal building for the General Aviation ("GAT") started. However, before works were completed, on 31 December 2001 operation was suspended due to insolvency of the airport operator. On behalf of the state of Saxony-Anhalt GSA acquired all assets from the bankrupt estate. The new operating company FMC mbH was founded in 2005 jointly with the

Landkreis Aschersleben-Staßfurt In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

. On 4 March 2010 the airport was acquired by the Danish company Development A/S. On 31 August 2016, the state authorities revoked the airport's operational license for instrumental approaches and therefore de facto closing it until further notice from 1 September 2016. It was stated that the airport failed to provide required documentation needed to keep the license.airliners.de - "Magdeburg-Cochstedt Airport is closed until further notice"
(German) 31 August 2016 In 2019, the

purchased the entire airport to establish a testing facility for

drone Drone most commonly refers to: * Drone (bee), a male bee, from an unfertilized egg * Unmanned aerial vehicle * Unmanned surface vehicle, watercraft * Unmanned underwater vehicle or underwater drone Drone, drones or The Drones may also refer to: ...

s and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

Airlines and destinations

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish ultra low-cost carrier founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Swords, Dublin, Ireland and has its primary operational bases at Dublin and London Stansted airports. It forms the largest part of the Ryanair Holdings family ...

operated summer seasonal flights out of Magdeburg–Cochstedt from 2011 to 2013, the last remaining destinations served being

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

and

Palma de Mallorca Palma (; ; also known as ''Palma de Mallorca'', officially between 1983–88, 2006–08, and 2012–16) is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is situate ...

. In December 2013 Ryanair announced the cancellation of these routes, leaving the airport without any scheduled flights. The airport was however used for few occasional leisure charter services once or twice per month after that.

Ground transportation

The airport can be reached via federal highway ''B180''.

can be reached within 40 minutes. There are currently no public scheduled transportation services.

References

External links

Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magdeburg-Cochstedt Airport Airports in Saxony-Anhalt 1957 establishments in East Germany Military facilities of the Soviet Union in Germany Airports established in 1957

History

Airlines and destinations

Ground transportation

See also

References

External links