If you live in the Frankfurt region.....you will have heard of Frankfurt-Hahn. About thirty miles to the west of Wiesbaden....lies this old US airbase. Hahn was essentially in the middle of nowhere. If you drove out the gate....there was a small town, and then....farms, lots of farms.
As the Americans shutdown the base.....some talk got generated on how the runway might be used. Eventually, they came to decide on making it a alternate airport of sorts.
RyanAir came in....the discount Irish company, and growth occurred. Jobs started to come into the Hunsruck region. It wasn't a big deal....but it certainly helped to replace the American business lost.
The airport consist of massive parking, and a medium-sized building. Around the perimeter of the airport....maybe a dozen buildings. Over the years....a couple of cargo airlines have come in, and Hahn has become this small solution of sorts for visitors traveling into Germany from European locations. Cheap ticket to arrive, a car rental shop, and off you go.
Well....the airport has tended to survive off some government subsidy assistance. And RyanAir regarded the positive tax structure in maximizing their business at Hahn. That's about to change.
Hahn says because of more limited flights and less business.....at least a hundred employees from the airport will be dismissed by 2018. The EU rules are that subsidy action by the government has to end by 2024, period.
Roughly 2.7 million travelers go in or go out via Hahn in an average year. You can add up the numbers and realize that it's a fair number of passengers. The trouble is.....RyanAir's whole existence is tied to cheap tickets. If they can't sell at a certain price....they leave (they've proven that point several times).
Presently, between Frankfurt-Hahn and the new Kassel airport (about 90 miles NE of Wiesbaden).....the region has a fair amount of runway and airport space to expand and build onto. The Frankfurt airport? Well....this regional fight over noise and night operations has turned into a bloody mess recently.
Making alternate use of the two limited business airports? The only way possible would involve some kind of fast-rail project where a guy could get off a plane in Hahn, get aboard a rapid rail and be at the Frankfurt airport fifteen minutes later. So far, no one has openly discussed this. I think most of the big players are waiting on massive demands to Frankfurt's airport before they engage on some use of the two alternate airports.
So when you hear about the talk of Frankfurt-Hahn and their subsidy debate.....you will grasp the whole picture. An airport with potential, but only existing because of cheap discounted tickets and tax money. It's not exactly the business theme that a real organization would develop and stay in business long-term. Yeah, it's a gimmick situation....at best.
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