Frankfurt–Hahn Airport

Frankfurt–Hahn Airport (German: Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn, IATA: HHN, ICAO: EDFH) is a minor international airport located 10 km (6.2 mi) from the town of Kirchberg and 20 km (12 mi) from the town of Simmern in the Rhein-Hunsrück district of Rhineland-Palatinate to the west of central Germany.

Despite its name, the airport is virtually equidistant between Frankfurt and Luxembourg – about 120 km (75 mi) to each city by road. It is actually closer to the German cities of Koblenz at about 70 km (43 mi) and Mainz at about 90 km (56 mi). The addition of Frankfurt to its name, however, is not an invention of low-cost carriers as is the case with some other airports – Frankfurt-Hahn is the airport's official name as it positioned itself as an alternative to Frankfurt Airport for low-cost and cargo traffic. During the 2000s it was owned by Fraport, which also operates Frankfurt Airport.

History

Military past

During the Cold War the Airport was a frontline NATO facility known as Hahn Air Base, and home of the United States Air Force 50th Fighter Wing (in various designations) for most of those years as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It was one of several USAFE bases in Germany (Zweibrücken, Ramstein, Sembach, Bitburg, Spangdahlem, and Rhein-Main) all within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of each other. Beyond their location in the heart of US troop concentrations, these air bases were well situated to reach all locations within Europe and the Mediterranean region.