International status
Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is one of the few airports in the world operated jointly by two countries, France and Switzerland. It is governed by the international convention of 1949. The headquarters of operations are located in Blotzheim, France. The airport is located completely on French soil, and the airport has a Swiss customs area connected to Basel by a border road. The airport is operated on an agreement established in 1946 where the three countries (Switzerland, Germany and France) are granted access to the airport without any customs or other border restrictions. The airport's board has 8 members from each country.
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| Location of the airport relative to Basel,. |
The airport building was originally split into two separate sections. However, with Switzerland joining the Schengen Treaty in March 2009, the separate Swiss and French halves have been united.
Due to its unique international status, EuroAirport has three IATA airport codes: BSL (Basel) is the Swiss code, MLH (Mulhouse) is the French code and EAP (EuroAirport) is the international code. The ICAO airport code is LFSB. The Geneva International Airport has a similar international status.
History
Plans for the construction of a joint Swiss-French airport started in the 1930s, but were stopped by the Second World War.
In 1946, talks were re-opened and it was agreed that an airport would be built at Blotzheim, 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the city. France would provide the land, and the Swiss canton of Basel-Stadt would provide the construction costs. Basel-Stadt's Grand Council agreed to pay the costs for a provisional airport even before the international treaty was signed (which was not until 1949). Construction began on 8 March 1946 and a provisional airport with a 1,200-metre (3,900 ft) runway was officially opened on 8 May in the same year.
Between autumn 1951 and spring 1953, the east-west runway was extended to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) and the "Zollfreistrasse" (sealed road) was constructed allowing access from Basel to the departure terminal without passing through French border controls.
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 metres (12,800 ft) in 1972. In 1984, an annual total of 1 million passengers was reached.
In 1987, the official name was changed to "Euro-Airport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg". In 1992, the total of 2 million passengers was reached, and in 1998 3 million. The decision was made to enlarge the terminals again with a new Y-finger dock, the first phase was completed in 2002, the second phase in 2005.
The airline Crossair was based at Basel and was the largest airline. Following the Swissair bankruptcy in 2001, and the transformation of Crossair into Swiss International Air Lines, the number of flights from Basel fell and the new terminal was initially underused. In 2004 the low cost carrier EasyJet opened a base at Basel and the passenger totals rose again, reaching 4 million in 2006.
Airlines and destinations
Ground transport
Connects to the A3 Motorway
Basel's BVB bus No. 50 connects the Swiss sector of the airport to the Bahnhof SBB, which is the main Swiss and French railway station in Basel.
French Distribus bus No. 11 connects the French sector of the airport to the Saint-Louis railway station.
Other facilities
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| Swiss International Air Lines head office at EuroAirport |
Swiss International Air Lines is headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg in the Swiss section of the airport; even though the airport is within France, the Swiss head office is only accessible from Switzerland. The airline Farnair Switzerland also has its head office at EuroAirport. As in the case of the Swiss head office, the Farnair head office may only be accessed from Switzerland. Hello, a Swiss airline, has its head office in the General Aviation area of EuroAirport.
Prior to the formation of Swiss International Air Lines, the regional airline Crossair was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport. Prior to its dissolution, Crossair Europe was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport.
(source:wikipedia)
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