I was thinking Stuttgart, Mannheim, etc. True, it's not Nord Rhein/Westfalia but it's still a bit industrial base?

I read (I think it was in the FT - the other one) that only one in five people in Berlin actually work for a living (including those working for the federal government), that all the rest are either depedants (children, stay-at-home spouses etc), pensioners and/or on benefits, and that in the ex-GDR "greater Berlin", the situation is even worse.
If that were true, Berlin would not quite be the right place for an airline hub...

The Frankfurt area is fairly strong as an industrial base. Russelsheim, Hoechst, Hanau...Not many European regions that have more manufacturing capacity.

Ha! One might say the same for Washington DC! :)

There is quite a bit in Frankfurt, however, certainly the region between Dortmund, Cologne and Duesseldorf has by far more manufacturing capacity.

Whatever the roots of FRA it certainly never stopped growing. In the 1990's when it became apparent that growth would continue, talks moved into full gear that led to the eventual closing of Rhein-Main Air Base. It started with taking over a youth sports complex close to the edge of the airport and finished with what was once the military's largest overseas transit point, in term of passengers, closing completely. Truly another Reagan legacy.

The large presence of the American military in the greater Frankfurt area fueled early growth. The emergence of Frankfurt as the financial capital of Germany and perhaps the EU was another big reason for continued expansion. The close proximity to the Ruhr Valley industry makes it a convenient shuttle hop but the regions are not codependent and both survive on their individual merits. Infrastructure tie-ins, such as rail and being on major autobahn routes east-west and north-south, not to mention the seaports, has cemented FRA's place in air travel lore.

MUC is still a destination heavy on tourism. Before the Wall came down Templehof was the only way to get into West Berlin. Due to airspace restrictions to the east it was quite a wild ride down and the military priority here would always limit commercial aviation, which is why Tegel has emerged as the dominant airport.

So when did Rhein-Main Air base close? I remember my first visit to the FRA area in the mid-80s and there were lots of US military personnel around - prominent signs on the highway that read "US FACILITIES" on the exit signs. In 1993 and 1997 I returned for a visit and the presence was much, much less due to the draw down though Rhein-Main was still operating then.

I concur with your above comments about the transport infrastructure and proximity to other major cities in the Rhine Valley as a factor in FRA's growth and continued status as a air transport hub. Plus, IME it's a heck of a lot easier to do connecting flights there compared with CDG (some flights, particularly to the Middle East or Africa, fly out of Orly) or LHR.

As I understand it the "corridor" for flights from West Germany to West Berlin was quite low by today's standards (designed for DC3s rather than modern jets) so I think spartacus may be at least partly correct about the bumpy rides.

However, as Flying Lawyer says it is certainly not correct that all flights went to Tempelhof until Reunification - on the contrary, there was hardly any commercial traffic into THF at all until after Reunification, the main commercial airport was (and still is) TXL.

One reason you got right, it is a big metro area with many smaller cities nearby. Also, Frankfurt is conveniently located near France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland and the Netherlands (within driving distance). In addition, just being in the middle of Western Europe, it is a hub for many passengers who continue their journey beyond Germany and beyond Western Europe, for that matter).

Actually, I heard that Berlin airports are expanding rapidly to share the load. Berlin, despite being the capital and the most populated city, has been a divided and disputed city for a long time, and was also not very accessible (as it was in the middle of East Germany, which required visas for and imposed many restrictions on Western travelers). That situation gave rise to Frankfurt and its airport. But it is beginning to change.

:)

FRA as a major German Airport
 

While FRA has been a hub for LH, the proximity to and now the aquirement of Rhein Main Airbase land makes it a perfect transportation hub. And the Frankfurt metro area's population is not as small as it first appears. The only other airports within a 2 hours commute is Hahn (little more than 1 hour) and Bonn (around 1 hour).

I would also be willing to bet frequent flyer miles that the US Government also had a big say on FRA becoming a major airport with all the military bases within that 2 hour commute circle.

The USAF turned over the keys in Spring of 2005. I don't remember the exact day, I just remember it was a bright sunny, almost warm spring day. At the time I was living in the flight path for one of the Rhein Main runways. Nothing quiet like a fully loaded C-5 taking off over your house at 0-crummy dark.

FRA because of Rhein Main and the cold war history really are the causes for the large early growth.

As for FRA's success - it really is about location, location, location. Millions and millions of people live within a two hour travel time of FRA, it is very centrally located in Germany and in Europe and the major industrial zones around Stuttgart, Mannheim and in the Ruhr region are all close by. The banking industry in Frankfurt generates a lot of business travel. And, as others have said, the high density of US military bases in the surrounding area back in the day helped a lot.

I splitted the thread up into a berlin thread and a frankfurt airport thread. please debate in the thread which is your topic. thank you for bringing this interesting topic into our forum :) we made it to talkmail ^

regards

chrissxb
co-moderator
germany forum

Well after WW II Berlin was off limits to any Non-Allied planes. There were only three "corridors" to access Berlin and Berlin was not a capital. West Berlin wasn't and for years the Western allies ignored the East.

Frankfurt was the main USAF base for goods into Berlin, transfers to the middle east and troops.

Also Frankfurt had been considered as the capital after the war, but due to manipulating the Agenda - Bonn on.

Hamburg is too far north to be practical.
Munich to far south - and not very industrialized ...
Also Bavaria is not a full member of the Germany in a weird way -- they never ratified the constitution -but declared to accept it - like this they are a Freistaat.

Cologne was too destroyed after the war and then the Airport was not under US control but the Brits . So what was left was FRA