Nestled within Germany’s Lower Rhine region, just to the south of Weeze municipality, is this minor international airport known as the Niederrhein Airport. It’s predominantly used by low-cost airline carriers for popular holiday routes across Europe and serves as an important hub for Ryanair.
Weeze Airport operates from a single passenger terminal building, with its apron situated to the west and no jet bridges for boarding. Some aircraft can be accessed by foot from the terminal building, while most are connected by buses. Ryanair has services to Morocco, Spain, Sweden, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Romania and the United Kingdom, as well as seasonal flights to some of Europe’s most popular holiday destinations. There are a few duty-free shops and restaurants throughout the terminal building, as well as ATMs and currency exchange counters. The airport offers 2.5 hour behind-the-scenes guided tours of the airport, including a comprehensive history of its former British military operations.
Weeze Airport is connected by regular bus services to Düsseldorf’s main railway station and the German cities of Duisburg and Essen, as well as to the Dutch centres of Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Venlo and Arnhem. There are also frequent shuttles to the nearby railway stations of Weeze, Kevelaer and Goch, from where there are train services across Germany and the Netherlands.
Weeze Airport first opened as a civil facility in 2003 on the former military airbase of RAF Laarbruch, with the low-cost Dutch carrier V Bird its main airline for the first year. In just four years its passenger numbers increased from 400,000 to 1.52 million, making it one of the fastest growing airports in Europe.