Graz Airport - History

History

The construction of the airport began in 1913 with the construction of a grass runway and the first hangars; the airport saw its first flight in 1914. It was the site of the concentration camp, Talerhof, run by the governments of Franz Joseph I of Austria and Charles I of Austria. The first passenger domestic flight in Austria, in 1925, serviced the route Vienna–Graz–Klagenfurt. In 1937, the construction of a terminal building began due to increase in the number of passengers.

After the end of the Second World War, however, Austria was forbidden to possess an aviation fleet, either military or civil. After reopening of Austrian airspace in 1951, a new concrete runway of 1,500 metres (4,921 ft) was built in Graz. This runway was extended to 2,000 metres (6,562 ft) in 1962. The route network grew quickly and the first international scheduled flight started in 1966 with a connection to Frankfurt. In 1969, the runway was again extended, this time to 2,500 metres (8,202 ft), and construction of a new, more modern terminal building became necessary. Special highlights of the airport were the landings of the Concorde in 1981 and the Boeing 747 on the occasion of its 70th anniversary of opening in 1984. Ten years later, another new building was constructed with a capacity of maximum 750,000 passengers per year. The latest extension of the runway was to 3,000 metres (9,843 ft) in 1998.

In early 21st century, the number of passengers exceeded the 750,000-mark and in 2004 is just below 900,000. This led to the final extension of the current terminal building in 2003 and the construction of a second terminal in 2005.