Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport

The Bavarian capital has been one of Germany's main aviation hubs for decades, with the Munich-Riem Airport opening in 1939, at which point it was one of the most modern airports on the planet, handling both domestic and international civilian and military traffic.

Though the airport was successfully rebuilt following extensive bombing during the Second World War, ongoing increases in passenger numbers meant that it was closed in 1992, with all operations moved to a new site just outside the old city of Freising.

Named after the German politician Franz Josef Strauss, the new airport was opened concurrently with the closure of the old one, with around nine million passengers making use of its facilities within the first couple of years.

Since opening, a second runway has been added and work on Terminal 2 was finished in 2003, while Munich has established itself as the second base of German national carrier Lufthansa, after Frankfurt.

However, as of October 2010, plans are in place for a third runway as
airport bosses look to further expand in line with ongoing rises in passenger numbers.

Travelling to Munich Airport

As befits one of Europe's newest and most forward-looking airports, passengers landing at Munich Airport are able to make use of excellent public transport connections into the city centre, as well as to a range of destinations, both within Bavaria and beyond.

The airport is on the S1 and S8 lines of the Munich suburban railway system, with the journey from terminal to city centre taking 45 minutes.

Stops on the route include the main Market Square, Karlsplatz and the Munich Central station.

Additionally, regular buses also take passengers to the nearby Freising railway station.

From here, trains run not only to Munich but to destinations including Nuremberg and Regensburg within Germany, and Prague in the neighbouring Czech Republic.

Airlines Flying from Munich Airport

As of autumn 2010, Munich Airport handles around 34 million passengers a year, making it the second-busiest airport in Germany, behind only Frankfurt.

Munich serves as a major hub for German flag-carrier Lufthansa, which links the city to dozens of destinations around the world.

Within Germany, the national airline offers domestic flights to Hamburg, Frankfurt, Hannover and Berlin, while within Europe, it flies to Athens, Barcelona, Dublin, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Naples, Oslo and Paris, among many others.

Furthermore, Lufthansa also flies to Beijing, Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, LA, Miami, Toronto, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai and Washington from Munich.

Munich Airport also serves as a hub for Air Berlin, which offers flights to dozens of destinations around the world from this part of southern Germany.

As well as short-haul flights to most European capitals, the airline flies to Cairo, Cancun, Moscow, Tel Aviv, Bangkok and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Meanwhile, a number of other national carriers offer flights to and from Munich.

These include Air Canada, which flies to Toronto, Air China, which flies to Beijing, and Air France and Austrian Airlines, which jet to Paris and Vienna respectively.

Iberia flies to Madrid, Finnair to Helsinki and Swiss International to Zurich.

Bmibaby offers bargain flights between Cardiff and East Midlands and Munich, while British Airways operates regular flights from London Heathrow, and easyJet links Bavaria with Edinburgh, London and Manchester.

Condor Flugdienst offers a range of flights to major summer sun destinations, including Malaga, Tenerife, Corfu and Rhodes.

In terms of North America, Continental jets to Newark, United to Chicago and Washington and US Airways to Philadelphia.

Furthermore, Air Nippon, El Al, Emirates, Etihad and Arkia Israel Airlines all fly to Asia.