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 surfa ...

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 Magdebu ...

, 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 th ...

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

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

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

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

and Palma de Mallorca. 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