Ryanair will no longer serve east Thüringen’s Altenburg airport from the summer of 2011, it was announced on Friday.
According to an article on MDR.de, this was down to a lack of a sufficient number of passengers using the route regularly, while the airport itself said it was due to unfeasibly high marketing benefits demanded by Ryanair, which were refused.
This airport was used (and still will be, while it’s operating, no doubt) by many of the LAs who work in Thüringen and other surrounding Länder, such as Sachsen and Sachsen-Anhalt – by myself included. Although the airport is very small, with there being only a cafe and toilets and nothing much else – it is still an airport that’s in a useful location to access what is a rather isolated part of Germany, at least in terms of air travel links to the UK.
One of central Germany’s problems is that, while it has four airports – Altenburg, Erfurt, Leipzig Halle, Magdeburg – apart from Altenburg, none of these have airlines that offer routes to the UK. Where then, with Altenburg’s closure, does that leave those attempting to get from Thüringen or indeed, anywhere in central Germany, to the aforementioned country?
Simply enough: Frankfurt or Berlin. Both are roughly two-and-a-half hours away from Erfurt, but that’ll necessiate a hefty rail fare of around €60 for a single ticket on the ICE train. If this is the price I have to pay to get to / from ‘Germany’s green heart’, then so be it – but for others it isn’t necessarily as easy as that.
For all of its problems and poor transport connections, Altenburg did its job: One flight a day to London Stansted, offering folks from both central / eastern Germany and the UK the chance to experience each other’s country and culture for a relatively low price. To lose that opportunity, is a great shame and it’ll be no-doubt missed sorely by Thüringen, Altenburg and surrounding areas.
Joe in Germany 
Jan 11, 2011 @ 22:20:48
Hi Joe, have been surprised by this announcement as i have used the route many times and have never flown on an empty plane. I use it to get to Colditz as do a lot of my friends in the uk. It is still a remarkable destination as is the surrounding area.
Also there is an interesting museum of flight next to altenburg.
This decision means as you have found there are at present limited options.
Easyjet have announced flights to Dresden which is as feasible as schonfeld but i think the only people to gain will be car hire companys.
May 18, 2011 @ 11:26:25
The “lack of sufficient number of passengers” explanation sounds like a load of bull to me – I flew that route regularly before it closed and I struggle to recall ever seeing an empty seat.
Dec 24, 2011 @ 10:48:48
Me too, I used to fly the route often. The plane was always full. The beauty of Altenburg was the sheer simplicity of it. It is a real shame it has gone.
Dec 24, 2011 @ 20:33:45
Yes, indeed. The place was lovely too – a little gem in the middle of Germany, relatively undiscovered. Sadly it’ll remain that way for a fair while longer, I’d imagine.
Jul 07, 2011 @ 11:49:37
Totally gobsmacked by this – have used this route several times to access Dresden and other Saxony destinations. Had just decided it was probably nearest cheapo flight airport for a trip to Bamberg and astonished to find it wasn’t there. I would say that every time I used it the plane was 95% full – perhaps that’s not good enough for Mr. O’Really!!