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Weeze Airport

Coordinates: 51°36′09″N 006°08′32″E / 51.60250°N 6.14222°E / 51.60250; 6.14222 (Weeze Airport)
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For the previous military use of this facility, see RAF Laarbruch.

Weeze Airport

Flughafen Weeze/Niederrhein
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorFlughafen Niederrhein GmbH
ServesKreis Kleve and Nijmegen
LocationWeeze, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
OpenedMay 2003; 21 years ago (2003-05)
Operating base forRyanair
Elevation AMSL106 ft / 32 m
Coordinates51°36′09″N 006°08′32″E / 51.60250°N 6.14222°E / 51.60250; 6.14222 (Weeze Airport)
Websitewww.airport-weeze.com
Map
NRN/EDLV is located in North Rhine-Westphalia
NRN/EDLV
NRN/EDLV
NRN/EDLV is located in Germany
NRN/EDLV
NRN/EDLV
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
09/27 2,440 8,005 Asphalt concrete
Statistics (2022)
Passengers1,036,882 Increase+76,5%
Aircraft movements0,015,533 Increase+68,6%
Cargo (metric tons)0,000,000 Steady+00,0%
Sources: Statistics at ADV[1]
AIP at German air traffic control.[2]

Weeze Airport (IATA: NRN, ICAO: EDLV), less commonly known as Niederrhein Airport, is a minor international airport in the Lower Rhine region of Germany. It is used by Ryanair. The airport is situated 3.7 km (2.3 mi) southwest[2] of the municipality of Weeze (German pronunciation: [ˈveːt͡sə]) and 7 km (4.3 mi) northwest[2] of Kevelaer, about 33 km (21 mi) southeast of the Dutch city of Nijmegen, and 48 km (30 mi) northwest of the German city of Duisburg.

History

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Foundation and early years

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The airport uses the facilities of the former military airbase RAF Laarbruch, and began operating as a civilian airport in 2003. There is also a large fire department training facility on the airport grounds. Its IATA code is NRN because of its official name Flughafen Niederrhein.

The airport has had several different names in its history as a civilian airport. The operators originally wanted to name it after the city of Düsseldorf, but the significant distance of 83 km (52 mi) to that city, which already had two closer international airports (Düsseldorf Airport as well as Cologne Bonn Airport), resulted in the name being blocked by a court ruling in 2016 that such a description would be likely to mislead passengers.[3] However, Ryanair still refers to it as "Düsseldorf-Weeze". Compared to Düsseldorf, the airport is actually closer to the Dutch cities of Venlo, Nijmegen and Arnhem, the German cities of Duisburg and Essen, and the immediate Weeze area.

Weeze was served by the short-lived, Dutch low-cost carrier V Bird, which opened a base here and operated flights to Berlin, Munich and several international destinations, from its inception in 2003 until bankruptcy in 2004. During this time, passenger numbers doubled from 200,000 to 400,000 within a year.[4] Between 2008 and 2013, this was one of Germany's fastest-growing airports; however, the airport handled only 1.23 million passengers in 2019, reflecting a decline in throughput triggered by Ryanair reducing its route network.[5]

Development since 2010: Decline and Minor Resurgence

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In February 2014, Ryanair announced the cancellation of 18 routes from Weeze for the 2014 summer season citing a lack of aircraft.[6]

In 2019, the airport faced severe financial difficulties due to a fall in passenger numbers by 30 percent over the previous year as a result of the cancellation of several Ryanair routes.[7] This was best exemplified by canceling the London-Stansted route, which was one of the most popular destinations from Weeze airport for most of the 2000s.

After seeing passenger numbers collapse during the COVID-19 pandemic, Weeze Airport has seen a minor resurgence in popularity, thanks to Ryanair opening several new routes and many destinations becoming popular again. [8]

Facilities

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Weeze Airport has one passenger terminal building with restaurants, shops, and check-in facilities. The apron, which is to the west of the terminal building, features nine aircraft stands for mid-sized aircraft such as the Boeing 737-800. As there are no jet bridges due to the location of the apron to the west side of the terminal building instead in front of it, bus-boarding is used for six stands. Only three stands are close enough to the terminal to be accessed on foot.

Airlines and destinations

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Direct flight destinations from Weeze Airport (Dec 2024)[9][10]

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and seasonal flights at Weeze Airport:[11]

AirlinesDestinations
Ryanair[12] Agadir, Alicante, Asturias,[13] Bari, Castellón, Copenhagen,[14] Crotone (begins 31 March 2025),[15] Edinburgh, Essaouira,[16] Faro, Fès, Fuerteventura, Girona, Málaga, Marrakesh, Nador, Olsztyn-Mazury (begins 30 March 2025),[17] Oujda, Paphos (begins 30 March 2025),[18] Palma de Mallorca, Rabat, Seville, Tangier,[19] Tenerife–South, Thessaloniki, Tirana,[20] Zagreb[21]
Seasonal: Ancona, Bergamo,[22] Béziers, Cagliari, Chania, Corfu, Dubrovnik,[23] Ibiza, Kos,[24][25] Lanzarote, Pescara, Porto,[26] Pula, Reus, Rhodes, Trapani, Zadar[27]
Sky Express Seasonal charter: Heraklion,[28] Kos,[28] Rhodes, Zakynthos[28]

Statistics

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Terminal exterior
Passengers
2008 1,523,990
2009 Increase 2,402,083
2010 Increase 2,896,730
2011 Decrease 2,421,108
2012 Decrease 2,208,429
2013 Increase 2,487,843
2014 Decrease 1,807,543
2015 Increase 1,909,704
2016 Decrease 1,854,108[29]
2017 Increase 1,885,811[30]
2018 Decrease 1,700,711
2019 Decrease 1,231,100[5]
2020 Decrease 299,711
2021 Increase 587,478
2022 Increase 1,030,000[31]
Source: ADV[32]

Ground transportation

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Coach

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Direct buses serve Düsseldorf Main Station up to 7 times a day, also covering early flight departures and late arrivals. The journey takes 1h 15min.[33] Airexpressbus offered from June 2007 until spring 2017 a service between Weeze Airport and Amsterdam with stops at Eindhoven Airport, Utrecht and 's-Hertogenbosch.[34]

Train

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Bus shuttles serve the railway stations of Weeze, Kevelaer and Goch on a frequent basis. Travellers for Düsseldorf Main Station will need to catch a bus or taxi to either Weeze or Kevelaer railway stations.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "ADV Monthly Traffic Report 12/2022" (PDF; 919 KB). adv.aero (in German). Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Verkehrsflughäfen e.V. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "AIP VFR online". dfs.de. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  3. ^ GmbH, FVW Medien. "Flughafen Weeze darf nicht Düsseldorf heißen". Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  4. ^ rp-online.de - "10 years ago: V Bird gives wings to the airport" (in German) 15 November 2013.
  5. ^ a b rp-online.de (in German) 9 January 2020.
  6. ^ "Ryanair streicht Angebot in Weeze kräftig zusammen". airliners.de. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  7. ^ aerotelegraph.com (in German) 15 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Flughafen Weeze präsentiert Winterflugplan". airliners.de. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
  9. ^ "Direct flights from Düsseldorf (Weeze) (NRN)". FlightConnections. 15 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Our destinations". Weeze Airport. 15 December 2024.
  11. ^ "Flight schedule". airport-weeze.com. 1 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Ryanair NS23 Network Additions Summary – 26MAR23". Aeroroutes.
  13. ^ "Asturias tendrá dos rutas internacionales más de las previstas (Y los billetes baratos ya están a la venta)". 22 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Ryanair NS23 Network Additions Summary – 26MAR23". Aeroroutes.
  15. ^ Redazione (2024). "Aeroporto Crotone, da marzo Ryanair attiva il volo per Düsseldorf" (in Italian). Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Winter 2023/24: Ryanair legt wieder Marokko-Flüge ab Wien auf". 24 August 2023.
  17. ^ "Ryanair opent nog 2 routes vanaf grensluchthaven Weeze". 6 December 2024.
  18. ^ "Ryanair opent nog 2 routes vanaf grensluchthaven Weeze". 6 December 2024.
  19. ^ https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/231218-frrkns24ma
  20. ^ "Ryanair sbarca in Albania. Attacco frontale a Wizz Air". 8 June 2023.
  21. ^ "Ryanair adds over 100.000 seats on Zagreb flights this winter". ExYUAviation.
  22. ^ "Ryanair May – Oct 2023 Italy Frequency Variations – 14MAY23". Aeroroutes.
  23. ^ "EKSKLUZIVNO! Ryanair će Dubrovnik povezati sa 17 odredišta, prema Dublinu, Beču i Londonu će letjeti i zimi". 28 November 2023.
  24. ^ "Ryanair".
  25. ^ "Ryanair NS24 Network Additions Summary – 14JUL24".
  26. ^ "Ryanair NS23 Porto Frequency Variations – 19FEB23". Aeroroutes.
  27. ^ "Ryanair NS23 A320 Network Additions – 05FEB23". Aeroroutes.
  28. ^ a b c "Sunweb: nu ook vakantievluchten vanaf Weeze en uitbreiding op Brussels Airport". luchtvaartnieuws.nl. 14 December 2022.
  29. ^ Klatt, Michael (17 January 2017). "Goch/Weeze: Airport Weeze 2016 mit Rekordgewinn". RP ONLINE.
  30. ^ "ADV Monthly Traffic Report" (PDF). Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  31. ^ lokalklick.eu (in German) 22 December 2022.
  32. ^ "German Airport Statistics" (in German).
  33. ^ "Airport Shuttle Weeze". Airport Weeze Shuttle. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  34. ^ redactie, Onze (9 May 2007). "AirExpressBus opent busverbinding van Amsterdam naar Airport Weeze". Luchtvaartnieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 October 2017.
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Media related to Flughafen Niederrhein at Wikimedia Commons

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