EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg

Foundation and early years

Plans for the construction of a joint Swiss–French airport started in the 1930s but were halted by the Second World War. Swiss planners identified Basel as one of the four cities for which a main urban airport would be developed and recognized that the existing airfield at Sternenfeld in Birsfelden was too small and, due to the development of the adjacent river port facilities, unsuitable for expansion. The suburb of Allschwil was proposed for a new airport, and this would require being constructed across the Franco-Swiss border, leading to talks with French authorities centered on developing a single airport that would serve both countries, enhancing its international airport status.^[8]

In 1946 talks resumed and it was agreed that an airport would be built 4 km (2.5 mi) north of Blotzheim, France. France would provide the land and the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt would cover the construction costs. Basel-Stadt's Grand Council agreed to pay the costs for a provisional airport even before an international treaty was signed (which was not until 1949). Construction began on 8 March 1946 and a provisional airport with a 1,200 m (3,900 ft) runway was officially opened on 8 May.^{[citation needed]}

Between autumn 1951 and spring 1953, the east–west runway was extended to 1,600 m (5,200 ft) and the "Zollfreistrasse" (Route douanière de l'aéroport à Bâle [fr; it]) (customs-free road) was constructed, allowing access from Basel to the departure terminal without passing through French border controls.^{[citation needed]}

The first enlargement project was approved by referendum in Basel in 1960 and, over the following decades, the terminals and runways were continually extended. The north–south runway was extended further to 3,900 m (12,800 ft) in 1972. In 1984, an annual total of 1 million passengers was reached. In 1987, the trademark name EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg was introduced.^[9]

In 1992 a total of 2 million passengers used the airport. By 1998, this number rose up to 3 million.^{[citation needed]}

In December 1998, Swissair inaugurated service to Newark using Airbus A310s.^[10][11] The main reason it launched the route was that it had heard another carrier was planning to begin flights from Basel to Newark; Swissair wanted to start flying the route before the other airline did. The company also hoped to attract people working for the pharmaceutical companies in Basel.^[12] Crossair, a subsidiary of Swissair, code-shared on the flight. The carrier operated a hub at the EuroAirport, from which it flew to 40 regional destinations.^[13]

Development in the 2000s

Swissair terminated the flight to Newark in March 2000, saying it suffered from low occupancy.^[11][14] The local newspaper bz Basel commented that the airline did not advertise it well.^[12]

A decision was made to enlarge the terminals again with a new "Y-finger" dock. The first phase was completed in 2002 and the second phase in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Crossair was the largest airline at the Basel airport. Following the Swissair liquidation in 2001, the subsequent ending of services in early 2002, and the transformation of Crossair into Swiss International Air Lines, the number of flights from Basel fell and the new terminal was initially underused.^{[citation needed]} In 2004 the low-cost carrier easyJet opened a base at Basel and the passenger totals rose again, reaching 4 million in 2006.^{[citation needed]}

From 2007 until 2009, Ryanair also flew to the airport for the first time. However, as a result of a dispute over landing fees, the airline closed all eight routes.^[15] More recently Ryanair announced it would return in April 2014, with the resumption of Basel–Dublin route as well as a short-lived revival of the Basel – London–Stansted route. Ryanair added a Basel-Zagreb route in December 2021.^[16]

In May 2008, Air Transat commenced seasonal service to Montreal.^[17][18] The airline flew an Airbus A310 on the route.^[19] In December 2014, Swiss International Air Lines announced it would cease all operations at Basel by 31 May 2015 due to heavy competition from low-cost carriers.^[20] Swiss faced direct competition on five out of its six Basel routes, all of which were operated by Swiss Global Air Lines. The Lufthansa Group announced it would set up Eurowings' first base outside Germany at the EuroAirport as a replacement. However these plans were later cancelled in favour of Vienna Airport.^[21]

In January 2017, the removal of Basel/Mulhouse from Air Berlin and its Swiss subsidiary Belair's route networks was announced.^[22]

Passenger

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at the EuroAirport:^[30]

Cargo

Car

The airport is connected to motorway A3 which leads from Basel to the southeast of Switzerland passing Zürich.

Bus

There are several bus connections to and from the EuroAirport to all three countries around it:

• On the Swiss exit Basel's BVB bus No. 50^[123] connects the airport to the Basel SBB railway station, which is the main Swiss and French railway station in Basel. During weekdays, there is a service every 7–8 minutes and on weekends, every 10 minutes during daytime. The duration of the trip is about 20 minutes. On the day of a visitor's arrival to Basel, a reservation confirmation from a local hotel guarantees a free transfer by public transport from the station or the EuroAirport to the hotel.^[124]
• On the French exit, Saint-Louis' DistriBus bus No. 11 connects the airport to the Saint-Louis railway station in 10 minutes.^[125]
• The German private bus company Flixbus calls at Zürich, Basel and Freiburg Germany up to five times a day. FlixBus however only serves the French exit of the airport. Serving Swiss destinations from the French part of the airport is a questionable legal trick, as people transport by foreign companies inside of Switzerland is illegal without official authorization due to cabotage regulations, which will not be granted by Swiss authorities on routes already supported by tax-financed public services. It's illegal to travel between Swiss destinations only. Police started to do random checks and to fine failing travelers. Serving Swiss destinations from abroad however is compliant.^[126][127]

Rail

As of 2021, the closest train station is the Saint-Louis-la-Chaussée station, some 900 m (3,000 ft) north of the terminal. Plans to build a dedicated airport rail link have existed for some time. However, political delays have pushed the earliest operating date to 2035.^[128]

Tram

There are two town tramway systems in relatively close proximity to the airport - Basel tramway and Mulhouse tramway. As the former was extended across the border in the 2010s, there are plans to further extend it to serve the airport. Presently,^[when?] the tramway serves St Louis SNCF Station, where one can change for the shuttle bus to the airport. Plans to extend the Mulhouse tramway to the airport do seem to be further from realization, however.^{[citation needed]}