Dortmund Airport

Continent: Europe Country: Germany
Diamond-caution.png Please note that the use of airband scanners in Germany is illegal.


Dortmund Airport
Location Dortmund, Germany
IATA code DTM
ICAO code EDLW
Airport type Commercial
Website http://www.flughafen-dortmund.de
Overview map Google Maps
Communications
Tower 134.175
Ground 121.825
Clearance
Approach
ATIS 125.125

Dortmund Airport DTM/EDLW, known as Flughafen Dortmund in German, is the international airport of Dortmund, Germany. Its slogan is Startbahn Ruhrgebiet (Runway Ruhr Area).

Early History

The airport was first served by commercial flights in 1925 by Aero Lloyd, which operated flights to Paris. By the business year 1927/1928, service had expanded to 2,589 commercial flights annually. During World War II the airport was used a German air base, and was subsequently used by the United Kingdom|British Royal Air Force. Service to Dortmund was not recommenced when German commercial air service was restarted in 1955.Over the next decades Düsseldorf International Airport and Cologne Bonn Airport were the dominant commercial airports in the Rhine-Ruhr. Additionally Hanover/Langenhagen International Airport and Münster/Osnabrück Airport also covered some of the air travel needs of this region. Furthermore, the 257 kilometer/km (160mile) Sauerlandlinie opened in the late 1960s, connecting Dortmund with Frankfurt International Airport in under two hours by car.

Commercial service was restored in 1979 with daily flights to Munich by Reise- und Industrieflug GmbH (RFG). Nuremberg and Stuttgart followed shortly afterwards. Following German Reunification in 1990, Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, and London were added to the flight schedule.

RFG and NFD (Nürnberger Flugdienst) merge in 1990 and Eurowings was formed, which is still based in Dortmund. Construction was started in 1998, and completed in 2000 on a new replacement terminal. This multi-level terminal prepared the airport for its resurgence.

From late 2000 onwards, Dortmund Airport has experienced a drastic increase in air traffic. In the 1990s weekly service had been generally restricted to a few turboprop flights to destinations within Germany, as well as occasional charter flights to warm-weather destinations. Since 2000, several new airlines have commenced service to Dortmund, many with mainline jets. Most of the air traffic today is by low cost airlines operating Boeing 737 or Airbus Airbus A318/Airbus A319/Airbus A320/Airbus A321 series aircraft to warm-weather destinations and business centers.

Official Spotting Locations

Public gallery

The public gallery is in the new terminal. With the elevator on level 2, then on the other side right at the Café past by the glass door the terrace is all around with plexiglass. For good photos unfortunately not suitably.

Other Spotting Locations

Where are two other Locations to take pictures at DTM.

The first if Runway 06 is in use: Leave the Terminal and turn right. Take this road for 1.5km alongside some airport facilities and a car park. Then turn right in the street named "Zur alten Windmühle" after a few steps you find a good position to take nice pictures.

The second if Runway 24 is in use: Leave the Terminal and turn left. Follow this road untill you reach the traffic lights. At this crossroads turn left into the "Zeche-Norm-Str". Follow this road for a while and you will reach the landing lights. Follow the road for just 200m and you'll see a concrete place. Sometimes some trucks are parked there. This is another position to take some better pictures as you could from the viewing gallery do.

Locations to Avoid

Location

Regular Traffic

Commercial Airlines and Aircraft

Airline Aircraft
easyJet A319, A320, 737-800
Eurowings
Eurowings (operated by Germanwings) A320
Ryanair 737-800
Sun Express 737-800
Sun Express Deutschland 737-800
Wizz Air A320

Destinations include Barcelona, Alicante, Berlin, Bozen-Bolzano, Budapest, Dresden, Gdansk, Geneva, Katowice, Krakow, Leipzig, London, Milan, Munich, Nice, Nuremberg, Palma, Paris, Poznan, Prague, Rome, Stuttgart, Warsaw, Westerland, Vienna and Zurich, as well as numerous vacation destinations around the Mediterranean Sea.

Facilities and Transportation

External Links

Spotters