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EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (IATA: MLH, BSL, EAP, ICAO: LFSB)[note 1][1] is an international airport in the French Alsace region, in the administrative commune of Saint-Louis near the border tripoint between France, Germany, and Switzerland. It is 3.5 km (2.2 mi) northwest of the city of Basel, Switzerland, 20 km (12 mi) southeast of Mulhouse in France, and 46 km (29 mi) south-southwest of Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany. The airport is jointly administered by France and Switzerland, governed by a 1949 international convention. The airport serves as a base for easyJet Switzerland and mainly features flights to European metropolitan and leisure destinations.

EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen
IATA: BSL, MLH, EAP[1] ICAO: LFSB
Summary
Airport type	International
Owner	France and Swiss canton of Basel-City
Operator	L'administration de l'Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse
Serves	Basel, Switzerland Mulhouse, France Freiburg, Germany
Location	Saint-Louis, France
Hub for	easyJet Switzerland Corendon Airlines Europe
Elevation AMSL	885 ft / 270 m
Coordinates	47°35′24″N 007°31′45″E
Website	www.euroairport.com
Map
BSL/MLH/EAP Location of airport in Alsace region Show map of Alsace BSL/MLH/EAP Location of airport in France Show map of France BSL/MLH/EAP Location of airport near Switzerland Show map of Switzerland BSL/MLH/EAP Location of airport near Germany Show map of Germany BSL/MLH/EAP BSL/MLH/EAP (Europe) Show map of Europe
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 15/33 3,900 12,795 Concrete 08/26 1,820 5,971 Concrete
Statistics (2019)
Passengers 9.090.312 Freight (tons) 110,129 Aircraft movements 99,313
Sources: French AIP,[2] airport's annual report[3] and French AIP at EUROCONTROL[4]

History

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.[5]

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" (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.[6]

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. Aircraft used on this route included Airbus A310s and A330s.[7][8] According to the local newspaper bz Basel, Swissair mainly launched the link to prevent another airline from starting it first.[9] The newspaper was possibly referring to Swiss World Airways, which had expressed its desire to connect the two cities. Swiss law stipulated that if a carrier based in the country introduced a route, no other Swiss airline could add that route to its network for ten years.[10][11] Swissair also hoped the flight would attract people working for pharmaceutical companies in Basel.[9] Crossair, a subsidiary of Swissair, code-shared on the route. The carrier operated a hub at the EuroAirport, from which it flew to 40 regional destinations. As a result, passengers travelling between Newark and one of those cities could change planes in Basel.[12]

Development in the 2000s

Swissair announced in early 2000 that the connection to Newark would conclude in March.[8][13] By this point, Swiss World Airways had shut down.[7] Swissair explained that the flights suffered from low occupancy, although a bz Basel journalist commented that the airline did not advertise them well.[9][13]

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.

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. In 2004 the low-cost carrier easyJet opened a base at Basel and the passenger totals rose again, reaching 4 million in 2006.

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.[14] 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.[15]

In May 2008, Air Transat commenced seasonal service to Montreal, Canada.[16][17]

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.[18] 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 International Airport.[19]

In January 2017, the removal of Basel/Mulhouse from Air Berlin and its Swiss subsidiary Belair's route networks was announced.[20]

International status

EuroAirport is one of the few airports in the world operated jointly by two countries,[21] in this case France and Switzerland. It is governed by a 1949 international convention. The headquarters of the airport's operations are located in Blotzheim, France.[22] The airport is located completely on French soil; it also has a Swiss customs border and is connected to the Swiss customs area by a 2.5-kilometre (1.6 mi)-long customs-free road to Basel, allowing air travellers access into Switzerland bypassing French customs clearance. The airport is operated via a state treaty established in 1946 wherein the two countries (Switzerland and France) are granted access to the airport without any customs or other border restrictions. The airport's board has eight members each from France and Switzerland and two advisers from Germany.[23]

The airport building is split into two separate sections: Swiss and French. Though the entire airport is on French soil and under French jurisdiction, the Swiss authorities have the authority to apply Swiss laws regarding customs, medical services and police work in the Swiss section, including the customs road connecting Basel with the airport. French police are allowed to execute random checks in the Swiss section as well.[23] With Switzerland joining the Schengen Treaty in March 2009, the air side was rearranged to include a Schengen and non-Schengen zone.[24] As border control is staffed by both Swiss and French border officers, passengers arriving from non-Schengen countries must approach the customs office of the country for which they have received the Schengen entry visa, which is either France or Switzerland. On the other hand, the Schengen area can be left from any Schengen area country.

Due to its 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 neutral code.[1] Some booking systems show different ticket prices for flights to BSL and MLH, as one of them can be a domestic flight within France (with different rules on fuel taxation, etc.), and in some cases, tickets can be issued where a „flight“ between BSL and MLH is shown on the itinerary. The airport's ICAO airport code is LFSB. LSZM, the old code, has been re-assigned to the airport of Mollis.[2]

In 2020, a French court decided that job contracts on the airport are governed by French labor laws, not Swiss ones. Basing on a 2012 agreement, the Swiss companies active on the airport have used Swiss labor regulations, which are more employer-friendly than the French ones. For example, the Swiss laws made it easier to dismiss workers, while the French rules prescribe a 35-hour week, earlier retirement, and much higher compensations in case of dismissals. In exchange, working under Swiss laws results in much higher wages.[25]

Terminal

The EuroAirport consists of a single terminal building, a brick-style main area with four levels and the Y-shaped gate area attached to it. The basement (Level 1) contains the access to the car park, the ground level (Level 2) features the arrivals facilities. Level 3 is the check-in area divided into halls 1–4 while the departure gates are located at Level 4. The gate area features gates 1–2, 20–46, 60–61 and 78–87 of which gates 22–32 are used for non-Schengen flights.[26] Six of the boarding gates feature jet bridges, the others are used for walk- or bus-boarding. As described above, the landside areas are uniquely divided into French and Swiss parts.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at the EuroAirport:[27]

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Seasonal: Athens[28]
Air Albania	Seasonal: Kukës[29]
Air Algérie	Constantine Seasonal: Algiers
Air Arabia Maroc	Casablanca
Air Cairo	Seasonal: Hurghada
Air France Hop	Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Transat	Seasonal: Montréal–Trudeau
AnadoluJet	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Austrian Airlines	Vienna
British Airways	London–Heathrow
Brussels Airlines	Seasonal: Brussels
Chair Airlines	Pristina
Corendon Airlines	Hurghada Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum, Chania,[30] Corfu, Heraklion, İzmir, Kos, Rhodes
easyJet[31]	Alicante, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belgrade (ends 8 May 2023),[32] Berlin, Bordeaux, Brindisi, Bristol, Budapest, Catania, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Hamburg, Lanzarote, Lisbon, London–Gatwick, Madrid, Málaga, Manchester, Marrakesh, Marseille,[33] Montpellier, Nantes, Naples, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Porto, Prague, Pristina, Rome–Fiumicino, Santiago de Compostela, Tel Aviv, Tenerife–South, Toulouse, Valencia, Vienna Seasonal: Agadir, Ajaccio, Bari,[34] Bastia, Biarritz, Cagliari, Calvi, Corfu,[35] Dubrovnik, Faro, Figari, Heraklion,[36] Hurghada, Ibiza, Kos, Kraków, Lamezia Terme, Menorca, Mykonos, Olbia, Palermo, Pula, Rhodes, Split, Thessaloniki, Venice, Zadar
Eurowings	Seasonal: Palma de Mallorca
FlyEgypt	Seasonal charter: Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh
Helvetic Airways	Seasonal: Jerez de la Frontera, Larnaca, Pristina, Santorini
KLM	Amsterdam
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Pegasus Airlines	Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Ryanair	Dublin, Zagreb[37]
SunExpress	Antalya Seasonal: İzmir
TUI fly Belgium	Seasonal: Marrakesh
Tunisair	Djerba
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul Seasonal: Gaziantep
Vueling	Barcelona
Wizz Air[38]	Banja Luka, Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest, Chișinău (ends 1 December 2022),[39][40] Cluj-Napoca, Iași (begins 13 December 2022),[41] Niš, Ohrid, Palermo, Pristina, Rome–Fiumicino,[42] Skopje, Sofia, Tirana, Tuzla, Warsaw–Chopin Seasonal: Kukës

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Korean Air Cargo[43]	Seoul–Incheon, Vienna
Qatar Airways Cargo[44]	Doha

Statistics

Passenger numbers

Route statistics

Busiest routes at EuroAirport Basel–Mulhouse–Freiburg Airport by passengers [45]

Rank	City	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016
1	Pristina	201 715	103 806	158 867	138 668	115 066	105 338
2	Istanbul (Sabiha Gökçen)	77 204	47 625	103 528	87 709	78 588	70 338
3	Palma de Mallorca	74 794	26 692	153 240	172 534	182 496	155 949
4	Porto	65 625	54 460	108 173	108 106	106 307	103 998
5	Nice	56 798	36 088	93 345	91 405	92 490	87 752
6	Barcelona	55 043	33 727	177 693	179 538	173 414	170 492
7	Berlin (Schönefeld)	53 958	16 764	80 956	192 847	222 665	217 504
8	Skopje (Skopje)	50 952	24 710	61 660
9	Amsterdam	50 288	56 954	222 480	219 746	210 215	206 986
10	Antalya (Antalya)	41 213	28 639	75 789
11	Istanbul (Istanbul)	40 537	31 575	60 690
12	Budapest	37 241	32 234	124 652	89 290
13	Bordeaux	34 880	22 715	68 836
14	Lisbon	33 959	25 255	101 667
15	Alicante	30 799	17 916
16	Vienna	29 750	24 172	99 173
17	Malaga	28 377	30 799	17 916
18	Hamburg	26 447	40 667	126 019	118 612	112 104	113 642
	Madrid	22 593	15 084	87 218	91 386	80 318
	Frankfurt	20 758	13 342	92 685	93 550	83 348	76 381
	Paris (Charles de Gaulle)	19 280	14 539	72 785	75 910	76 900	82 424
	London (Gatwick)	14 213	33 326	143 672	141 380	138 051	135 895
	London (Heathrow)	7 228	28 202	140 676	140 289	129 091	126 362
	Munich		13 773	85 508	87 754	80 186	76 625
	Berlin (Tegel)		38 923	147 257
	Istanbul (Atatürk)			21 553	82 821	73 527	72 896

Other facilities

• The headquarters of Swiss International Air Lines and Swiss Global Air Lines are on the grounds at 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.[46][47] The Swiss division Swiss Aviation Software has its head office there as well.[48]
• Farnair Switzerland formerly had its head office at EuroAirport. As in the case of the Swiss head office, the area with the former Farnair head office may only be accessed from Switzerland.[49] The head office moved to its current location, the Villa Guggenheim in Allschwil, in proximity to EuroAirport, on 1 October 2011.[50]
• Hello, a now defunct Swiss airline, had its head office in the General Aviation area of EuroAirport.[51]
• Prior to the formation of Swiss International Air Lines, the regional airline Crossair was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport.[52] Prior to its dissolution, Crossair Europe was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport as well.[53]

Ground transportation

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[54] 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.[55]
• On the French exit, Saint-Louis' DistriBus bus No. 11 connects the airport to the Saint-Louis railway station in 10 minutes.[56]
• 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.[57][58]

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. There are plans to build a dedicated airport rail link opening some time in the 2020s.^{[citation needed]}

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, the tramway serves St Louis SNCF Station, where you 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.

See also

• Transport in Switzerland
• Mulhouse–Habsheim Airport

Notes

References

External links

Media related to Bâle-Mulhouse Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website (in English, French, and German)
• Aeronautical chart and airport information for LFSB at SkyVector
• Current weather for LFSB at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for BSL at Aviation Safety Network
• Accident history for MLH at Aviation Safety Network
• "Franco-Swiss treaty for the construction and use of Basel–Mulhouse airport in Blotzheim" (1949). Text available in French and German.
• History of Basel Airport on Airport Website (in German)
• Information and some history on Airport Website (in English)

На других языках

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[de] Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen

Der internationale Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen (Markenname seit 1987 EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg) liegt 6 km nordwestlich von Basel (Schweiz) und 22 km südöstlich von Mülhausen (Frankreich) auf den Gemarkungen der französischen Gemeinden Hésingue (Häsingen) und Saint-Louis (St. Ludwig) im Département Haut-Rhin, ist allerdings durch die Basler Flughafenstrasse, welche eine Zollfreistraße ist, direkt mit Schweizer Staatsgebiet verbunden. Weltweit einmalig wird der Flughafen von zwei Staaten gemeinsam betrieben. Da er auch für den südwestdeutschen Raum grosse Bedeutung hat, bekam er den Zusatz Freiburg; südbadische Vertreter sind im Verwaltungsrat und im trinationalen Beirat, allerdings ohne Stimmrecht. Vor Eröffnung des EuroAirports waren die Schweizer Flüge vom Flugplatz Basel-Sternenfeld in Birsfelden abgewickelt worden, während Mülhausen durch den Flugplatz Mülhausen-Habsheim bedient worden war.

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- [en] EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg

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[es] Aeropuerto de Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo

El Aeropuerto de Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo (en alemán: Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen-Freiburg) (código IATA: BSL para Basilea en el lado suizo, MLH para Mulhouse en el lado francés y EAP para Euroairport - código ICAO: LFSB) está situado en el municipio de Saint-Louis al sur de la región de Alsacia en Francia. El aeropuerto sirve a las regiones de Basilea, en Suiza, Mulhouse en Francia y un poco menos a la región de Friburgo en Alemania. También es llamado EuroAirport (EuroAeropuerto) por ser un aeropuerto transfronterizo.

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[fr] Aéroport international de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg

L'aéroport international de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg ou EuroAirport (code IATA : EAP • code OACI : LFSB) est un aéroport international franco-suisse situé sur le territoire français entre Bâle, Mulhouse et Fribourg-en-Brisgau, à la frontière tripoint entre la France, la Suisse, et l'Allemagne. Son statut d'aéroport « binational » implique la présence d'une partie suisse (code IATA : BSL) et d'une partie française (code IATA : MLH • code OACI : LFSB). Il s'agit du seul aéroport au monde à posséder ce statut. L'aéroport, son aérogare et ses pistes sont réparties entre les communes alsaciennes de Saint-Louis, Hésingue et Blotzheim.

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[it] Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo

L'Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo (IATA: BSL—MLH—EAP, ICAO: LFSB) è l'unico aeroporto tri-nazionale al mondo ed è chiamato Euroaeroporto perché è stato costruito dalla Svizzera su territorio francese nel comune di Saint-Louis messo a disposizione dalla Francia secondo il trattato firmato dai due stati il 4 luglio 1949. Data questa particolarità serve sia la vicina città Basilea (3 km) in Svizzera, sia la città di Mulhouse (30 km) in Francia e marginalmente anche quella di Friburgo in Germania (74 km).

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[ru] Базель-Мюлуз-Фрайбург

Ба́зель-Мюлу́з-Фра́йбург, также «Аэропорт Базеля-Мюлуза» или «Евроаэропорт» (фр. Aéroport international Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg; нем. Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen), — французско-швейцарский аэропорт, расположенный на французской территории, около города Сен-Луи (фр. Saint-Louis), в южной части Эльзаса, недалеко от швейцарской границы. Единственный в мире аэропорт, управляемый совместно двумя странами.[3]

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