Bremen Airport

Early years

The beginnings of the airport date back to the early 20th century. The Bremer Verein für Luftschiffahrt, a local aerospace club, conducted the first experimental flights at the present site in the summer of 1910, on what was then the parade ground of the local garrison. The Senate of Bremen supported the establishment of an airfield to connect Bremen to the growing airship route network. Official permission for the opening of an airport was granted on 16 May 1913. The initial infrastructure was geared towards aircraft operations instead of the initially envisaged airships. Several wooden hangars were erected.

During World War I, the airport was taken into military administration, and civilian operations ceased. The military erected a wooden hangar, but conducted only a small number of operations from the airfield. After the war, the airport only reopened on 18 July 1920, with Dutch airline KLM beginning scheduled flights to Amsterdam soon thereafter. In the same year, the Weimar National Assembly authorised investment into upgraded facilities at the airport. Administration of the airport was transferred to the newly founded Bremer Flughafengesellschaft. In 1923, the aeroplane manufacturer Focke-Wulf was founded on a site adjacent to the airfield.

World War II

In the 1930s, several new terminal buildings and hangars were constructed, with the largest to date being completed in 1937. In the same year, four new runways were built. These were arranged in a star-like pattern. The increasing military buildup under the rule of the Nazis also began to show itself at the airport, with the Luftwaffe establishing a flight training base there. Civilian operations again came to a standstill with the beginning of World War II. For a short period between November 1939 and June 1940, the airport served as the base for a squadron of Focke-Wulf Fw200 bombers. In the later stages of the war, the airport came under repeated bombardment due to co-location with the Focke-Wulf plant. This left most of the infrastructure destroyed or severely damaged by the end of the war.

The United States Army took over the airport and the adjacent aircraft plant in 1945 for use as an airbase. After conducting the necessary repairs, it operated mostly transport aircraft into and out of the American enclave within otherwise British-occupied northern Germany. Control was handed back to the Bremen authorities in 1949. Civilian operations resumed that year with Scandinavian Airlines using Bremen Airport as a stopover on routes from Scandinavia to Geneva and Vienna. Runway 09-27 was extended to 2.000 m.

Development since the 1950s

In the mid-1950s, the terminal buildings were reconstructed and Lufthansa began scheduled flights to the airport. The German airline also established its pilot training operations (Lufthansa Flight Training) at the airport. During the 1960s, scheduled jet flights began to be operated at Bremen. In 1971, a large radar system was installed on the southern perimeter of the airport.

1989 was the first year that the airport had more than one million passengers. The current terminal building was opened in 1998.

In January 2016, the airports operator announced that the main terminal building will undergo major redesign and renovation works until 2018. The three current terminal sections 1, 2 and 3 will be merged amongst several other changes. In May 2016, the airport introduced its new brand which replaced the marketing name City Airport Bremen with the new BRE Bremen Airport.

In February 2017, it has been announced that British Airways will terminate its flights from Bremen to London and Manchester which are both operated by SUN-AIR on short notice by 25 February 2017. SUN-AIR maintained a base for these routes at Bremen Airport.

Facilities

The airport consists of one main passenger terminal building, split into sections Terminal 1, 2 and 3 that features several shops, restaurants and service facilities as well five aircraft stands equipped with jet bridges and some additional stands for mid-sized aircraft on the apron. The main building contains the check-in counters 5-19 and 21-38. Ryanair uses another more basic facility to the west of the main terminal called Terminal E which only features walk-boarding and features the check-in counters 1E-4E.

The Bremenhalle inside the airport hosts a little aviation and space exploration museum, displaying the Junkers W33 Bremen and the first Spacelab module.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Bremen Airport:

Tram

Tram line 6 departs every 5 to 10 minutes (on Sunday evenings up to 20 min) to the city centre. The ride takes 11 minutes.

Car

The airport can be reached via motorway A1 (Baltic Sea – Ruhr area; Exit Arsten) and the yet only partly completed city motorway A281 which crosses the city of Bremen.