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Location
Frankfurt Airport lies 12 km
(7.5 mi) southwest of central
Frankfurt, near the Autobahn
intersection Frankfurter Kreuz,
where two of the most heavily
used motorways in Europe (A3 and A5)
meet. The airport grounds, which form a city
district of Frankfurt named Frankfurt-
Flughafen, are surrounded by the Frankfurt
City Forest. The southern portion of the
airport grounds extend partially into the
cities of Rüsselsheim am Main and
Mörfelden-Walldorf, and a western portion
of the grounds lie within the city of
Kelsterbach.
map of Frankfurt Airport
The airport is centrally located in the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, Germany's third-
largest metropolitan region, which itself has a central location in the densely populated
region of the west-central European megalopolis. Thereby, along with a strong rail and
motorway connection, the airport serves as a major transport for the greater region, less
than two hours by ground to Cologne, the Ruhr Area, and Stuttgart.
History
The base opened as a German commercial airport in 1936, with the northern part of
base used as a field for fixed-wing aircraft and the extreme southern part near
Zeppelinheim serving as a base for rigid airships. That section of Rhein-Main later
became the base for the Graf Zeppelin, its sister ship LZ-130, and, until 6 May 1937, for
the ill-fated Hindenburg.
The airships were dismantled and their huge hangars demolished on 6 May 1940 during
conversion of the base to military use. Luftwaffe engineers subsequently extended the
single runway and erected hangars and other facilities for German military aircraft.
During World War II the Luftwaffe used the field sporadically as a fighter base and as an
experimental station for jet aircraft.
EDDFFrankfurt
May 2017
www.alliance-airways.net
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