History
The chronicles of Linz Airport
We’ve come a long way full of important milestones since the company’s foundation in 1955: Let’s go on a journey through the eventful and exciting history of Linz Airport!
The years from 1938 to 1959
1938
Ground-breaking ceremony of the military airfield Linz-Hörsching, was largely used as a flying school.
1945
Taken over by the United States Air Force and renamed "Camp Mc Cauley".
1950
Permission to use the airfield as a civil airfield is granted, commencement of a flight connection to Zurich. 162 passengers
1955
Flughafen Linz Betriebs Ges.m.b.H. is founded. 399 passengers
1956
Due to the successful handling of a transport of Hungarian refugees, Linz Airport registers 7,500 passengers.
1959
Car racing events on the grounds of Linz Airport. A prominent participant was the actor Gunther Philipp.
The years from 1960 to 1969
1960
Extension of the runway to 2,000 m.
1962
Decline in passenger numbers as the airport no longer meets technical requirements. New construction of a tower. 94 passengers
1966
Regular international flights to and from Frankfurt start – and continue uninterrupted to this day, which results in a significant increase in the number of passengers. 14,088 passengers
1967
The Instrument Landing System (ILS) is put into operation. Plans for the general expansion of Linz Airport are drawn up. 24,715 passengers
1969
First landing of a Sud Aviation Caravelle of Austrian Airlines for a charterflight to Vienna, organised by Raml Reisen.
The years from 1970 to 1979
1972
Construction starts on the new north building, and the charter flights segment is significantly expanded. 62,363 passengers
1976
The first section of the new north building is opened, and the renovation of the runway is completed. Linz becomes Austria’s first airport to add a system of beacons to the centreline of the runway. 69,000 passengers
1977
Lufthansa establishes a second regular connection to Frankfurt. Swissair operates the first daily flights to and from Zürich. Construction starts on extending the runway to a total length of 2,780 metres. 94,800 passengers
1978
The runway extension works are completed. Air cargo services are expanded. 104,800 passengers
1979
Construction of the customs buildings of the northern handling facilities starts. 124,288 passengers
The years from 1980 to 1989
1981
The new passenger terminal facilities are put into operation. First landing of a British Airways Concorde. 147,252 passengers
1984
Work starts on the category IIIB instrument landing approach facilities. 165,065 passengers
1985
The category IIIB instrument landing approach facilities are completed and put into operation. 179,505 passengers
1987
Scheduled Linz – Paris and Linz – Düsseldorf services are established by Air France and Lufthansa respectively. 214,579 passengers
1988
Daily morning and evening services to and from Zurich start in March, and a third connection with Frankfurt is established in October. 268,647 passengers
1989
Scheduled flights to and from Amsterdam take place on a twice-weekly basis, and Austrian Airlines maintains three connections a week to Düsseldorf. The last Concorde arrivals in Linz take place on September 18 and 20 before Austria implements a ban on landings in 1990. 313,042 passengers
The years from 1990 to 1994
1990
Linz operates four connections a week to Amsterdam and five to Düsseldorf. 385 European airport managers meet in Linz for the tenth annual conference of the ICAA in June at the invitation of Linz Airport. 350,033 passengers
1992
Runway renovation works start on September 15. The first stage is completed on November 18. 374,043 passengers
1993
The second stage of the runway renovation works starts on March 1, before reopening at 21:12 on May 19. The first jet to land on the new runway as part of a scheduled service is an Austrian Airlines MD 83, while the first jet to land as part of a charter flight is an Air Liberté MD 83. Construction of the new cargo hangar starts on May 14. 354,486 passengers
1994
The new cargo hangar is completed and subsequently opened on June 16. The existing apron (55,000 square metres) is enlarged by 15,000 square metres and provides three additional aircraft stands. 438,736 passengers
The years from 1995 to 1999
1995
Construction begins on the extension to the cargo hangar. An MD83 belonging to the German charter airline Aero Lloyd is stationed at Linz Airport from the beginning of November, coinciding with the start of a new three-times-a-week connection to Munich. 560,935 passengers
1996
The new cargo hangar (Terminal II) opens in July. The new canopy is completed in July as well. Scheduled services see an increase in frequency, with four daily connections to Frankfurt from April and three daily connections to Zurich from July. 634,313 passengers
1998
In spring, naming ceremonies are held for an Austrian Airlines A320 and an Aero Lloyd A321. The General Aviation hangar opens in July. Structural improvements are made in the form of an expanded arrivals hall and a subterranean luggage handling system. 680,907 passengers
1999
The renovated departures building is ceremonially opened, and a new connection with Bolzano is operated from autumn onwards. Linz becomes the first airport in the world to be assessed within the framework of the EMAS scheme and ISO 9001/2000. 692,198 passengers
The years from 2000 to 2004
2000
Air Alps establishes scheduled services to and from Zurich, and the third cargo terminal is put into operation. 746,904 passengers
2002
The new helicopter landing point is established by the ÖAMTC and the Ministry of the Interior. Lauda Air stations a B738 at the airport. 639,914 passengers
2003
The newly founded Styrian Spirit airline establishes connections to Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. The second stage of the airport expansion takes place: The transit zone is expanded, and preparations start for the arrival of an Antonov 225, world’s biggest transport airplane. 634,188 passengers
2004
A new airline joins Linz Aiport, as Ryanair begins operating flights to London. "Linz Airport" becomes "Blue Danube Airport Linz". 750,171 passengers
The years from 2005 to 2009
2005
Despite construction work to renovate one of the runways, no reduction in air traffic happens – because the works are carried out at night. The Instrument Landing System (ILS) is installed on runway 09. The highlight of the year is a large festival held at Linz Airport on September 17 in honour of its 50th anniversary. 726,530 passengers
2006
NIKI establishes a presence at Linz Airport with four weekly connections to the major air travel hub in Mallorca, from where 17 further connections to Spain and Portugal are available. 762,061 passengers
2007
Three new connections are established: Munich (Lufthansa), Cologne (TUIfly) and Barcelona/Gerona (Ryanair). DHL establishes regular cargo services to and from Leipzig. 773,624 passengers
2008
A new sheltered parking area is built, and the frequency of cargo services increases in line with a new connection to Ljubljana. 803,163 passengers
2009
Linz is the site of an impressive logistical feat in autumn, as 400 horses are cleared through customs and transported to India. 682,945 passengers
The years from 2010 to 2014
2010
A special guest arrives in Linz on June 2, when Lufthansa lands the largest passenger aircraft in the world, the A380, at the airport. 692,044 passengers
2011
New developments: airberlin begins operating five weekly flights to Berlin. The border inspection post for live animals and animal products is expanded: Linz Airport is the only airport in central Europe where any species of ungulate can be imported. 679,220 passengers
2012
A challenging year for aviation and air traffic. Nevertheless, scheduled services to Vienna are increased to five a day. 623,385 passengers
2013
The fifth cargo terminal opens, and Ryanair establishes winter services to Tenerife. 549,961 passengers
2014
A daily connection to Zurich is established. 561,295 passengers
The years from 2015 to 2019
2015
An Aviation Day is held on October 3 in honour of the 60th anniversary of Linz Airport. 529,785 passengers
2016
"Flieg ab Linz" (Fly from Linz) syndicate is founded to develop new ideas and establish new goals in collaboration with partners from the travel industry. 435,468 passengers
2017
Linz Airport experiences a turbulent start to the year due to NIKI’s retreat. Many new charter airlines establish themselves in Linz (Small Planet, Corendon, Travel Service). The airport sees a record high in volume of cargo traffic. 402,007 passengers
2018
Charter passengers increase by 45 percent. A new service offensive commences, and renovation work starts on the exterior façade of the terminal building. 465,798 passengers
2019
Bulgarian Air Chater stations a holiday aircraft at Linz airport, which leads to yet another increase in charter passengers. Linz Airport rolls out a corporate rebrand. 436,018 passengers
The years from 2020 to ...
2020
The corona pandemic hits the airline industry particularly hard and air traffic almost comes to a standstill for some time. In the middle of the crisis, Turkish Airlines launches a cargo flight to Istanbul with B777s and A330s. Austrian Airlines brings medical equipment from China to Linz with a B777. 51,306 passengers
2021
The effects of the pandemic are mainly felt in passenger traffic, but in the cargo sector, the airport was able to report record figures, the decisive factor being 50 special flights, including 3 with the Antonov AN225. 68,509 passengers
2022
Slight recovery in passenger traffic, last landing of the Antonov 225 in January before it was destroyed in the Ukraine in the first days of the war. Eurowings discontinues the connection to Düsseldorf at the end of the year.
207,766 passengers
2023
Charter traffic reaches pre-crisis level again, situation in scheduled traffic remains difficult. SkyAlps launches three weekly flights to Frankfurt on 30.10.
232,950 passengers
