EuroAirport BaselMulhouseFreiburg (IATA: BSL, MLH, ICAO: LFSB) is an international airport 6 km (3.7 mi) northwest of Basel (Switzerland), 22 km (14 mi) southeast^[3] of Mulhouse (France), and 70 km (43 mi) south of Freiburg (Germany).^[3] It is located in France, on the administrative territory of the commune of Saint-Louis near the Swiss and German borders.

International status [edit]

BaselMulhouseFreiburg is one of the few airports in the world operated jointly by two countries, France and Switzerland. It is governed by the international convention of 1949. The headquarters of operations are located in Blotzheim, France.^[4] The airport is located completely on French soil, and the airport has a Swiss customs area connected to Basel by a border road.^[5] The airport is operated on an agreement established in 1946 wherein the three countries (Switzerland, Germany and France) are granted access to the airport without any customs or other border restrictions. The airport's board has 8 members each from France and Switzerland, and two advisers from Germany.^[6]

The airport building is split into two separate sections Swiss and French. With Switzerland joining the Schengen Treaty in March 2009, the air side was rearranged to include a Schengen and non-Schengen zone.^[7]

Due to its unusual international status, EuroAirport has three IATA airport codes: BSL (Basel) is the Swiss code,^[8] MLH (Mulhouse) is the French code^[9] and EAP (EuroAirport) is the international code.^[10] Its ICAO airport code is LFSB.^[1] The Geneva International Airport has a similar international status (though without the multiple IATA codes).

History [edit]

Plans for the construction of a joint Swiss-French airport started in the 1930s, but were stopped by the Second World War.

In 1946, talks were re-opened and it was agreed that an airport would be built 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Blotzheim, France. France would provide the land, and the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt would provide the construction costs. Basel-Stadt's Grand Council agreed to pay the costs for a provisional airport even before the international treaty was signed (which was not until 1949). Construction began on 8 March 1946 and a provisional airport with a 1,200-metre (3,900 ft) runway was officially opened on 8 May of the same year.

Between autumn 1951 and spring 1953, the east-west runway was extended to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) and the "Zollfreistrasse" (customs-free road) was constructed, allowing access from Basel to the departure terminal without passing through French border controls.

The first enlargement project was approved by referendum in Basel in 1960 and, over the following decades, the terminals and runways were continually extended. The north-south runway was extended further to 3,900 metres (12,800 ft) in 1972. In 1984, an annual total of 1 million passengers was reached.

In 1987, the official name was changed to "Euro-Airport BaselMulhouseFreiburg". In 1992, a total of 2 million passengers were served, and, in 1998, 3 million. The decision was made to enlarge the terminals again with a new "Y-finger" dock. The first phase was completed in 2002 and the second phase, in 2005.

The airline Crossair was based at Basel and was its largest airline. Following the Swissair bankruptcy in 2001, and the transformation of Crossair into Swiss International Air Lines, the number of flights from Basel fell and the new terminal was initially underused. In 2004 the low cost carrier EasyJet opened a base at Basel and the passenger totals rose again, reaching 4 million in 2006.

Airlines and destinations [edit]

Passenger [edit]

Cargo [edit]

Ground transport [edit]

• Connects to the A3 Motorway
• Basel's BVB bus No. 50 connects the Swiss sector of the airport to the Bahnhof SBB, which is the main Swiss and French railway station in Basel. During weekday, there is a service every 78 min and on weekend, every 10 min during daytime. The duration of trip is about 20 min. On arrival at hotel, visitors to Basel are given a Mobility Ticket, which allows free trips on public transportation in the city of Basel and its environs (zones 10, 11, 13 and 15, inclusive EuroAirport) for the entire duration of the stay (max. 30 days). On the day of arrival to Basel, the reservation confirmation from the hotel guarantees a free transfer by public transport from the station or the EuroAirport to the hotel.^[11]
• French Distribus bus No. 11 connects the French sector of the airport to the Saint-Louis railway station.
• Freiburger-Reisedienst AirportBus connects the French sector of the airport to Freiburg Central bus station.

Other facilities [edit]

Swiss International Air Lines is headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in the Swiss section of the airport; even though the airport is within France, the Swiss head office is only accessible from Switzerland.^[12][13] The Swiss division Swiss Aviation Software has its head office there,^[14] Hello, a now defunct Swiss airline, had its head office in the General Aviation area of EuroAirport.^[15]

Prior to the formation of Swiss International Air Lines, the regional airline Crossair was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport.^[16] Prior to its dissolution, Crossair Europe was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport.^[17] The airline Farnair Switzerland formerly had its head office at EuroAirport. As in the case of the Swiss head office, the area with the former Farnair head office may only be accessed from Switzerland.^[18] The head office moved to its current location, the Villa Guggenheim in Allschwil, in proximity to EuroAirport, on 1 October 2011.^[19]

See also [edit]

• Mulhouse-Habsheim Airport

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (official site) (English) (French) (German)
• Fly-EuroAirport.com (official B2C site of EuroAirport) (English) (French) (German)
• Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse (Union des Aéroports Français) (French)
• Accident history for BSL at Aviation Safety Network
• Accident history for MLH at Aviation Safety Network