History

1935/1936

Construction of the Memmingerberg military airbase.

1944/1945

Several heavy bombing raids in the last two years of the war destroy the airport infrastructure.

1954/55

The Americans, as the occupying power, declared the airbase site a training ground for military aircraft. The infrastructure was rebuilt in 1955.

1959

The Bundeswehr established the “Allgäu” Fighter Bomber Wing 34.

2001

The closure of the military airfield was decided due to the Bundeswehr’s reorganisation measures.

2002

Allgäu Airport GmbH & Co KG was founded on 13.06.2002 to prepare for the civilian use of the NATO airfield after its closure.

On 31.07.2002, the application for a modification permit under aviation law was submitted to the Southern Bavaria Aviation Authority (Luftamt Südbayern).

2003

Withdrawal of the air force. The airport is released for subsequent civilian use.

2004

On 9 July 2004, the former military airbase was granted a modification permit for a civil regional airport by the Southern Bavaria Aviation Authority.

On 05.08.2004 commencement of flight operations under visual flight rules.

2006

Start of construction work for the commencement of regular passenger flight operations.

2007

TUIfly commenced regular passenger flight operations on 28.06.2007.

On 21.10.2007, Allgäu Airport GmbH & Co KG welcomed its 100,000th passenger.

2008

Allgäu Airport welcomed its 500,000th passenger in September 2008.

2009

On 29.04.2009, a Ryanair aircraft took off from Allgäu Airport for the first time.

The new Gate 4 was inaugurated on 29.05.2009.

The Hungarian airline Wizz Air commenced flight operations at Memmingen Airport on 07.08.2009.

2010

A new arrival hall was completed. In addition, the new gates 5 and 6 on the 1st floor of the terminal were opened on 21.05.2010.

2011

An application for planning approval under aviation law was submitted to the Southern Bavaria Aviation Authority (Luftamt Südbayern). A total of around EUR 15 million is to be invested. Specific measures include widening the runway, optimising taxiways, designating additional parking areas for aircraft, expanding the terminal and parking facilities, as well as the instrument landing system, and adjusting operating hours.

2012

On 28.06.2012, 5 years of scheduled flights and 10 years of Allgäu Airport were celebrated. During this time, around 82,000 flight movements and 3.5 million passengers were recorded.

2013

The 4 millionth passenger was welcomed in January. In March, Memmingen Airport receives the planning approval for the further expansion of the airport from the South Bavarian Aviation Authority.

In December 2013, the Lufthansa subsidiary Germanwings began domestic flight operations between Hamburg, Berlin and Memmingen, the first scheduled flight connections of Germany’s largest aviation group in Memmingen.

2014

Memmingen Airport welcomes its 5 millionth passenger in June.

2015

On 14 July 2015, the Bavarian Administrative Court dismisses all lawsuits against the expansion of Memmingen Airport. Planning for the expansion can now begin. The operating hours may be extended in accordance with the planning approval procedure.

In November 2015, referendums were held in Memmingen and the district of Unterallgäu on the participation of the city and district in areas of the former airbase site. Both decisions were made in favour of the airport and the planned purchase of land.

2017

The operating company Flughafen Memmingen GmbH takes over the operational business of Allgäu Airport GmbH & Co. KG.

In March, Ryanair announces the opening of a base in Memmingen, with a stationed aircraft for the start of the winter flight schedule in October. 10 years of Memmingen Airport were celebrated on 28.06.2017.

With a total of 1,179,875 passengers, the million mark was exceeded for the first time in 2017.

2018

On 5 October, the ground-breaking ceremony for the airport expansion took place together with the Bavarian Prime Minister, Dr Markus Söder.

The 10 millionth passenger was welcomed on 6 December. In December, Ryanair also announced a second aircraft for the Memmingen site from the end of March 2019.

Another record was set with 1,492,553 passengers in 2018.

2019

From 17 – 30 September, flight operations were completely suspended for the runway’s renovation. During these two weeks, a new LED lighting system was installed and the slope was widened from 30 to 45 metres. A lizard habitat was also created. All work was completed on schedule so that flight operations could be resumed on 1 October.

2020

In May, the car hire and travel centre was opened in car park P1 directly opposite the terminal. The removal of the previous hire car area in the terminal now offers additional space for waiting passengers at check-in.

2021

On 05 October, the new baggage hall was opened by Bavaria’s Transport Minister, Kerstin Schreyer. This includes the new arrivals hall and baggage handling. The hall with a usable area of around 2,300 square metres was built during a 19-month construction period. The extension meant that the previous arrivals area could be converted into another gate.

2022

In 2022, Memmingen Airport set a new record in its history after the Coronavirus crisis. For the first time, 1,991,654 passengers were counted.

The history of Memmingen Airport