G
Growth of the airport-
In 1951 restrictions for
German air travellers were
lifted and civil air traffic started
to grow again. In 1952
Frankfurt Airport handled more than
400,000 passengers; a year later it was more
than half a million. About 100 to 120
aeroplanes took off from and landed in
Frankfurt daily. In 1955, Lufthansa resumed
flights to and from Frankfurt and in the same
year the Federal Republic of Germany
gained its air sovereignty back from the
Allies.
Civil air traffic at Frankfurt Airport in 1951
In 1957 the northern runway was extended, first to 3,000 m (9,843 ft) and then to
3,900 m (12,795 ft), to make it compatible with jet aircraft.
The airport did not emerge as a major international airline hub until 1958 when a new
passenger terminal called Empfangsanlage Ost (Terminal East, literally "Arrival Facility
East") opened in the north-east corner of the airport site. Only four years later it was
clear that the terminal was already too small for the demand. In 1961 Frankfurt already
had 2.2 million passengers and 81,000 take-offs and landings, making it the second
busiest airport in Europe behind London Heathrow Airport.
In 1962 it was decided to build an even larger terminal with a capacity of 30 million
passengers per year. Work on this terminal began in 1965. The southern runway was
extended to 3,750 m (12,303 ft) in 1964. In 1970 a new hangar was inaugurated; this
accommodated six jet aircraft and was the world's largest hangar at the time.
The new main terminal
The new terminal, called Terminal Mitte (Central Terminal, today known as Terminal 1) is
divided into three concourses (A, B and C) with 56 gates and an electric baggage
handling system. Everything opened to the public on 14 March 1972. It was assumed
that the terminal capacity would be sufficient for the next 30 years. Along with the new
terminal a railway station (Frankfurt Airport station) was opened, the first airport railway
station in the Federal Republic of Germany. A few days later the old Empfangsanlage
Ost was closed.
EDDFFrankfurt
May 2017
www.alliance-airways.net
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