Klagenfurt Airport

Klagenfurt Airport Kärnten Airport
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IATA: KLU – ICAO: LOWK KLU Location of airport in Austria
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Kärntner Flughafen Betriebsgesellschaft m. b. H.
Serves	Klagenfurt, Austria
Elevation AMSL	448 m / 1,470 ft
Coordinates
Website	klagenfurt-airport.at
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 10R/28L 710 2,329 Grass 10L/28R 2,720 8,924 Concrete
Statistics (2014)
Arriving passengers 111,467 Departing passengers 112,173
Source: Austrian AIP at EUROCONTROL

Klagenfurt Airport (IATA: KLU, ICAO: LOWK), also known as Kärnten Airport, is the airport of Klagenfurt, the sixth-largest city in Austria. It is located in the borough of Annabichl, only 1.5 NM (2.8 km; 1.7 mi) north northeast from the city centre of Klagenfurt and serves some flights to European leisure and metropolitan destinations.

History

Early years

In 1905, Georg Count of Khevenhüller from Hochosterwitz Castle and in 1907 Dipl.-Ing. Joseph Sablatnig (Joseph Sablatnig was owner of the Fokker-Sablatnig, Deutsche Flugzeuge, Deutsche Motoren, Flugzeug Gesellschaft mbH, Berlin) were the first men in the sky over Carinthia and Klagenfurt.

In World War I and II, the airport of Klagenfurt was operated as a military airfield, and indeed Klagenfurt Airport was founded in 1914 as a military airport. The civil opening of Klagenfurt Airport on 17 May 1925, was an event for the City of Klagenfurt as well as for Carinthia.

In June 1929, the pilot hero of World War I, Julius Fedrigoni Edler von Etschthal, has the function of flight director of the airport until 1939.

After the end of World War II, Julius Fedrigoni was returned to Annabichl, he worked with low-budget flight operations. On 1 January 1952, Korv. Kpt. Julius Fedrigoni founded the Committee city of Klagenfurt and he was flight director until 1956.

Already in the years 1926 to 1938, seven airlines operated from Klagenfurt Airport. Countries like Germany, Italy, Slovenia and of course domestic flights to all major cities in Austria were connected with Klagenfurt. After 1950, the airport was connected with countries like Brazil, Israel, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom and others.

Recent developments

In spring 2014 the airport's home carrier Austrian Airlines announced the closure of their ticketing and service counters at Klagenfurt Airport due to decreasing demand, additional services will be instead provided directly at the check-in counters. In April 2015, Austrian Airlines also announced that a closure of their domestic route to Vienna is under consideration within the next few years based on economic reasons. In the same year, the state government announced plans to partly sell its stakes in the airport to private investors.

As the airport suffered from a major decrease of passenger numbers in recent years it has been suggested by the management to establish major logistics and cargo operators here, which might be supported by the freight shipment operations handled at the relatively closely located harbours of the Adriatic Sea. The airport already features road and rail connections. However, Austrian Airlines stated later that the airport is not sufficient for cargo operations due to noise complaints and the night curfew.

In October 2015, the Austrian military announced to shut down their entire operations and helicopter base at Klagenfurt Airport by the end of 2015.

Facilities

File:Klagenfurt airport departure hall.jpg

Terminal building

File:Control tower Klagenfurt Airport (Lufthansa advert).jpg

Control tower

Klagenfurt Airport consists of one small passenger terminal building which features some shops and restaurants as well as a visitors terrace. The apron provides several stands for mid-sized planes such as the Airbus A320 as well as smaller general aviation aircraft. As there are no jet bridges, busses are used for boarding.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Klagenfurt Airport:

Airlines	Destinations
Adria Airways	Seasonal charter: Kefalonia (begins 4 June 2016)
Austrian Airlines	Vienna
Eurowings	Hamburg (begins 27 March 2016)
Germanwings	Berlin-Tegel, Cologne/Bonn, Hamburg

The nearest bigger international airport is Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport in Slovenia approx. 70 kilometres (43 mi) to the south.

Ground transportation

Train

The train station "Klagenfurt-Annabichl" is at a 5-10 minutes (750 meters) walking distance from the terminal and offers suburban rail services every half-hour to St.Veit (and beyond) as well as to Klagenfurt Hbf, the villages along the Wörthersee, Villach (and beyond).

Road

The airport has its own exit named Klagenfurt Flughafen on the nearby motorway A2 which leads to Vienna and Italy. A regular suburban bus service connects the airport with the city centre including Klagenfurt main station. There is also a coach connection between Klagenfurt Airport and Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport which is served several times a day.

See also

• Transport in Austria
• List of airports in Austria

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Flughafen Klagenfurt, Paul Posch, P. 1995 Magistrat der Landeshauptstadt, Klagenfurt, Abt. Kultur, 182 p. ISBN 3-901591-00-1

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Current weather for LOWK at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for KLU at Aviation Safety Network