History of Rostock Airport

1978 – 1989
A base for the National People's Army (NVA) of East Germany was built in Laage by Rostock toward the end of the seventies. The construction took from 1979 up until 1981. Then as well as today, the airport Rostock-Laage is considered to be one of the largest airbases in northern Europe. Military use started with the Fighter Wing JBG 77 of the NVA in 1984.
In addition to that the Navy Fighter Wing 28 was stationed there so that the airbase was used for two active fighter wings.

1990 – 1993
After the German reunification in 1990, the German Bundeswehr took charge of the airbase and dissolved all of the NVA alliances that same year.
Starting 1993 the airbase Laage is put under the command of the Fighter Wing 73 which is still stationed there today. Fighter Wing 73, as the only German Air Force unit and stationed in Rostock-Laage flies with the MIG-29A and the McDonnell Douglas F-4F Phantom II.
The contract between the military side and the commercial side for the use of the airport was signed as early as 1992. Commercial use of the airbase and the initial active operation of the airport operator Rostock-Laage-Güstrow GmbH start after the official opening of the terminal on 4 October 1993, merely one year after planning had started. About 60 of the 1.000 hectares are turned over for civilian/commercial use. Up to today this military-civilian cooperation is unique in Germany.

1994
The German Postal System integrates the airport Rostock-Laage into its net of night air mail. From then on the airport Rostock-Laage has been taking care of the entire turnover of nightly air mail to and from Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania.

1995
In November of 1995 the first charter flight to Istanbul leaves out of Rostock with its tour operator PTI – Panoramica.

1996
The airport Rostock-Laage is integrated into the list of departure points of large tour operators like Neckermann and TUI. The new destinations are Majorca, Tunisia, Turkey and the Grand Canary Islands, among others.

1997
In order to comply with the heightened security standards, the airport Rostock-Laage receives a new tower which is operational in March.
Within a short period of time the airport Rostock-Laage has become one of the most important infrastructural institutions of Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania. More tour operators are including Rostock-Laage in their list of possible points of departure. By the end of the year the airport can already count 80.000 passengers.
The airport is also receiving more enquiries about international freight traffic which causes the construction of a cargo hall that year and makes Rostock-Laage the only customs declaration port of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania.

1998

The European Airplane Consortium Airbus-Industry (Toulouse) uses the Airport Rostock-Laage as testing site for their new A319 and A 31 type aircraft.
The airport celebrates its 5th anniversary in March. Almost 100.000 passengers with 9 tour operators and 17 airlines to 24 different destinations on a national and international level are flying this year.
A new departure area is opened in order to accommodate a growing number of passengers.

1999
The airport Rostock-Laage is now an airfreight station of Lufthansa Cargo.
The newly initiated long term parking P4 enlarges its parking space to accommodate 600 slots free of charge.

2000
The first airport festival takes place on 9 September at Rostock-Laage. The close to 15.000 visitors are not only marveling at the civilian part of the airport; they are also allowed to enter the military section. Two sightseeing flights with an Airbus A319 across the hanseatic city of Rostock are the highlight of the festival.

2001
The 500.000th passenger is welcomed in the middle of the year.
Air Berlin is the first airline that is stationed at Rostock-Laage and offers 22 destinations via four hubs.

2002
Cirrus-Airlines opens its regular flight connection Rostock-Laage – Munich on 2 May.
The parking areas are expanded according to the growing number of passengers; altogether 1 short-term and 4 long-term parking areas, with a capacity of 800 parking spaces free of charge are located at the airport.

2003
The planning stage of a new international terminal is in progress. The official approval for the subsidies toward the construction is received in November of 2003.

2004
Construction commences on 1 March 2004 for the immense project "New Terminal". The foundation stone is ceremoniously laid on 17. May.
The last MIGs of the Fighter Wing 73 are sorted out and passed on to our NATO partner Poland. From now on the Eurofighters of the German Bundeswehr are taking off for their training missions from here.

2005
Cirrus Airlines opens their new regular inland connection Rostock-Laage – Cologne/Bonn on 23 May.
During the course of construction on the new terminal, the parking areas are expanded and 1.000 parking slots are available free of charge.
The new terminal is opened during a celebration attended by guests from the tourism, economic and political sectors. The 10th and 11th of September were designated "open house" days. Numerous attractions were ready to greet the 30.000 enthusiastic visitors.

2006
The regular connection Rostock-Laage – Munich as well as Rostock-Laage – Cologne/Bonn starts on 9 September with dauair. As of 26 March, Dortmund and Zurich are added on Sundays.
The first wedding is celebrated in the terminal on 13 April and immediately following the ceremony they were off on their honeymoon.
Air Force One landed on 12 July with the U.S. President Georg W. Bush, his wife Laura and the Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice for a 36-hour visit in Mecklenburg-Western Pommerania.
OLT continues the regularly scheduled flight to Munich after dauair went insolvent.
The German National Soccer Team lands at Rostock-Laage on 6 October due to their scheduled international match in Rostock against Georgia.
The redevelopment of the runway is successfully completed, finally at the end of October, after 3.5 months while operations continued.

2007
During the G-8 summit 6-8 June in Heiligendamm, the airport Rostock-Laage served as the central airport for all arrivals and departures of the heads of state and their delegations.
The newly renovated parking areas which are now brightly lit and equipped with a video surveillance system were turned over on 13 August. For the first time there is a minor charge for using the parking facilities.

2008
Starting on May 1st, Germanwings operates scheduled flights from Cologne-Bonn to Rostock-Laage. As part of a large first flight event and naming ceremony, an aircraft of Germanwings was given the name "City of Rostock". This flight connection marks the successful beginning of a new strategy, i.e. to establish the airport as incoming airport for Baltic Sea tourists.
From June to September, Ryanair launched the route from Rostock-Laage to Stockholm.

2009
By the end of March the first flight from Stuttgart marks the second connection with Germanwings to the airport Rostock-Laage. This first flight will also be celebrated with a large event and a Germanwing aircraft will again have a naming ceremony and will be given the name "Island of Rügen".