
| Frankfurt-Hahn Airport Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn |
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|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: HHN ICAO: EDFH | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn GmbH, Germany | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 1610 ft / 491 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 03/21 | 12,467 | 3,800 | Asphalt |
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (German: Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn) (IATA: HHN, ICAO: EDFH) is a commercial airport located 10 km (6.25 miles) from the town of Kirchberg and 20 km (12.5 miles) from the town of Simmern in the Rhein-Hunsrück district of Rhineland-Palatinate to the west of central Germany. Despite its name, the airport is situated over 120 km (75 miles) to the west of the city of Frankfurt (by road).
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During the Cold War Frankfurt-Hahn Airport was a frontline NATO facility known as Hahn Air Base. Hahn Air Base was the home of the United States Air Force 50th Fighter Wing (in various designations) for most of those years as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It was one of several USAFE bases in Germany (Zweibrücken, Ramstein, Sembach, Bitburg, Spangdahlem, and Rhein-Main) all within 100 km (62.5 miles) of each other. Beyond their location in the heart of US troop concentrations, these air bases were well situated to reach all locations within Europe and the Mediterranean region.
On 30 September 1993, most of Hahn Air Base was turned over to civil German authorities, the USAF retaining a small portion as a communications site. It is also frequently used for military charters, these flights being operated by, amongst others, Continental Airlines and United Airlines.
The German government decided to turn the former airfield into a civil airport. One of the main investors in the development of the new Frankfurt-Hahn Airport was Fraport AG, which primarily runs Frankfurt International Airport, the aim being to reduce the amount of traffic using that airport.
Hahn charges its airline operators less due to its remote location. This has made the airport popular with low-cost carriers, especially Ryanair which uses the airport as a major hub.
Although its scheduled traffic is almost exclusively international flights, Hahn Airport does not carry the word "International" as part of its name.
Hahn is served by a number of (mostly) private bus operators that run regular services to Frankfurt/Main (1h 45min, via Frankfurt International Airport), Cologne (2h 15min), Luxembourg (1h 45min) and a number of other cities in western Germany and the region.
The airport has no direct railway connection; there is a bus connection to the closest major railway stations in Mainz (1h 10min, 60 km/38 mi) and Koblenz (1h 5min). The bus services to other major cities (e.g. Frankfurt, Cologne, Koblenz) usually connect to that city's main railway station, too.
Hahn is fairly well reachable by road, though it is not directly connected to the Autobahn (Highway system). Parking and car rental are available at the airport.
Frankfurt-Hahn Airport can handle airplanes up to the size of an Antonov An-124 or Boeing 747 cargo jet on a regular basis. The even larger Antonov An-225 cargo transporter has paid visits in 2002 and 2003.