Germany’s Regional Airports – Spotting Guide

Germany has around 30 airports with airline and passenger services, and many more smaller airfields.

The country’s main gateways are a natural draw to spotters, including Frankfurt Main, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne/Bonn.

However, in this article I want to uncover some of Germany’s regional airports that are smaller and less well known, but which can be of interest to spotters.

Münster Osnabrück

FMO/EDDG
North Western Germany

Münster’s airport in North Rhine-Westphalia has existed since 1966. It has a single runway. It handles just over 800,000 passengers per year, which are handled through the modern terminal with jet bridges. To the west of the terminal is a long row of hangars which are used by local fixed base operators and biz jets, and for maintenance and cargo purposes.

Main airlines

• Air Berlin
• Germania
• Lufthansa
• Turkish Airlines

Where to Spot

The terminal has an official viewing area, but photography is through glass.

Dortmund

DTM / EDLW
North Western Germany

Dortmund is a busy leisure airport with strong seasonal traffic. It is not far from Dusseldorf and Cologne, so lives in their shadows somewhat.

It has one runway and one passenger terminal, with a separate general aviation terminal to the west. A wall separates the two parking aprons, making it difficult to see one area from the other!

Main airlines

• easyJet
• Germanwings
• Ryanair
• SunExpress / SunExpress Deutschland
• Wizz Air

Where to Spot

There is a viewing area and a cafe upstairs in the terminal with views. Photography is through glass. Other spots exist at either end of the runway.

Erfurt Weimar Airport

ERF / EDDE
Thuringia, Central Germany

Ilyushin IL-18 at Erfurt. Photo (c) Lothar Röser

Erfurt is much quieter today than it used to be. It is served mainly by seasonal flights to holiday destinations, with no regular scheduled routes apart from cargo flights operated by TNT 737 and BAe 146 aircraft. The airport is quite popular with biz jets and sees plenty of other cargo operators. A preserved Ilyushin 18 (DDR-STG) can be found on the main parking apron.

Main airlines

• Germania
• SunExpress
• TNT

Where to Spot

There is a small viewing area in the terminal which looks out onto the parking apron.

Friedrichshafen Airport

FDH / EDNY
Southern Germany

Friedrichshafen is a small airport on the shores of Lake Constance (Bodensee) on the border between Germany and Switzerland. It is also close to Austria and Liechtenstein. The airport has a single runway and passenger terminal, and its most famous landmarks are the Zeppelin hangars on the north side of the airfield.

The Dornier Museum at Friedrichshafen Airport is a nice attraction, exhibiting the history of this airfield and this aircraft manufacturer. [Website]

Friedrichshafen is primarily a leisure airport, with holiday flights taking tourists out in the summer, and bringing tourists in for the skiing in the winter

Main airlines

• Germania
• Lufthansa Regional
• Turkish Airlines
• VLM
• Wizz Air

Where to Spot

The terminal has an observation deck with good views of passing aircraft. There is also a viewing mound alongside the Dornier Museum.

Rostock Laage

RLG / ETNL
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North Eastern Germany

Rostock is a joint civil-military base close to Hamburg and the borders with Denmark and Poland at the very top of Germany. It has a single runway and a small passenger terminal, with light aircraft parking alongside. Military aircraft park on the far opposite side of the runway.

Rostock mainly sees regional scheduled routes and is a base for Germania which flies to holiday destinations. There are also plenty of light aircraft here.

Main airlines

• bmi Regional
• Germania
• Germanwings
• Lufthansa Regional

Where to Spot

There is a viewing terrace inside the terminal at Rostock, with a nice cafe alongside. It has views over the parking gates.

Saarbrücken Airport

SCN/EDDR
Western Germany

Saarbrücken Airport is a regional airport in the western part of Germany, only a short distance from the border with France, and within easy reach of Frankfurt, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Because of the proximity of these larger cities, the airport is fairly quiet. It handles around half a million passengers per year, which mainly fly on charter holiday flights. Unusually, Luxair also operates some scheduled flights from here.

Main airlines

• Air Berlin
• Germania
• Luxair
• TUIfly

Where to Spot

As with most German airports, there is an observation deck within the terminal at Saarbrücken Airport with views of the apron.

Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport

FKB / EDSB
Baden-Württemberg, Western Germany

Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden handles around a million passengers per year through a mix of low-cost and leisure carriers. It is quite close to Strasbourg over the border in France, and also Stuttgart. The passenger terminal is roughly at the mid-point of the single runway, with eight remote stands stretching to the north. To the south there are plenty of hangars and parking areas for FBOs, maintenance and air taxi operators. The airport occasionally sees charters and training flights by larger aircraft.

Main airlines

• Air Berlin
• Eurowings
• Ryanair
• TUIfly
• Turkish Airlines
• Wizz Air

Where to Spot

There are two viewing terraces in the terminal at Baden-Baden. One is at the northern end of the terminal, and the other is in the former departure terminal area. Both are free and offer views over the parking stands and runway beyond.

Find out more

Make sure you sign up for our free newsletter (see below) for more spotting tips and information, and our FREE eBook.