The infrastructure challenge

What a difference 3.8% make

Munich Airport’s infrastructure must grow to meet the increased demand for mobility among private and business customers. The Group is pursuing an entire series of pioneering future projects with the expansion of Terminal 1, the development of LabCampus, and the improvement of landside access and traffic links at the airport.

34.7 million passengers in 2010

+3.8% average annual growth rate

47.9 million passengers in 2019

Expansion of the infrastructure

Planning and expanding in line with requirements

Munich Airport must grow to match the increased demand for mobility both among private and business customers. FMG is therefore expanding the airport infrastructure in line with requirements, connecting transportation operators, and playing an active role in extending and optimizing landside access and traffic development – focusing at all times on quality and the changing needs of customers. Negative effects on the environment and the area around the airport will be kept to a minimum, for example by applying extensive compensating and noise protection measures. The goal is to minimize the adverse impact of contaminants or resource and energy consumption on the environment by adopting sustainable building concepts, and then afterwards through sustainable operation of the building.

Upgrade for Terminal 1

Terminal 1 can no longer fully meet the quality expectations of passengers and the regulatory demands on security checkpoints. The building is therefore being extended to include a new gate with needs-based passenger handling facilities. Docking points for up to twelve aircraft will be available at the 350 meter pier. Covering an area of around 90,000 square meters, this renovation is also creating new retail and catering space as well as two large airline lounges, while simultaneously improving the passenger handling processes through centralized security zones; the intention is to make the area significantly more appealing to passengers and airlines in the non-Schengen zone. The total cost of the expansion plan is estimated to be around €455 million. Work has been under way on the apron since spring 2019: The concrete has been broken open, the aviation fuel line has been moved in sections, and new lines have been drawn. The first preparatory measure for the construction started at the end of 2019 with the excavation of the foundation pit. This new area is scheduled to go into operation in 2023.

In addition, a series of quality-enhancement measures will ensure that Terminal 1, which was opened in 1992, will be adapted gradually to present-day aviation requirements. There is already a new recreation area for waiting passengers on level 05 in Module D as well as sensory walls for younger guests with mobile play elements. There is also a new security checkpoint here. Meanwhile, construction works have already started for an additional border inspection post in Module B.

• Road links

  Works to improve the eastern road link are due to continue until the end of 2020: The southern ring road and Erdinger Allee are being extended, while a four-lane expansion of the airport feeder road eastwards is under way at the same time.

• Eastward apron expansion

  The 180,000 square meter expansion of the apron east of Terminal 2 is expected to be completed in spring 2021. The project will deliver 23 new aircraft stands.

• Rail links

  The railway tunnel for suburban trains and airport express services, which enter the station below the airport from the west, is being extended by 1.8 kilometers to the east as part of the Erding ring closure.

• «T-Stiel»

  The satellite building is to be extended by a new building structure to the east, which will be adjoined at right angles. The passenger capacity of Terminal 2 could therefore increase by up to ten million passengers per year.

• T1 extension

  Terminal 1 is gearing up for the future: Construction has started on the western apron for the 350 meter long gate, which is due to go into operation in 2023.

• LabCampus

  The laying of the foundation stone for the LabCampus innovation hub is planned for 2020. A bridge is being constructed over Zentralallee in order to connect this area.

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«T-Stiel» for the Terminal 2 satellite

Flughafen München GmbH and Deutsche Lufthansa AG plan to intensify and continue their strategic cooperation to sustainably enhance Munich as an air traffic hub. The T2 satellite commissioned in April 2016 marked the first expansion stage of this extremely successful joint venture. The cooperation model that led to the joint development and operation of Terminal 2, which opened its doors in 2003, was hailed as unique throughout Europe. The next step is to extend the satellite building connected with Terminal 2 by a building adjoining at right angles to the east, known as «T-Stiel». As with the satellite building, this building will also comply with FMG’s climate objectives. The «T-Stiel» extension will increase the passenger capacity of the Terminal 2 system by up to ten million air passengers per year. This will therefore ensure that the Munich hub airport can meet the increase in passenger demand that is expected again in the long term, while maintaining optimum quality standards for guests.

Additional space on the eastern apron

At peak times, there are frequently no available aircraft stands on the aprons of Munich Airport. This is because of the increased number of flight movements and the use of wide-bodied aircraft like the Airbus A380, which require a lot of space. For this reason, the apron on the eastern side of the airport near the T2 satellite building is to be expanded by around 180,000 square meters with the addition of 23 aircraft stands, six of which will be suitable for wide-bodied aircraft. The new area will then have a modern infrastructure, which will guarantee safe, efficient, and sustainable aircraft handling. For example, the taxiway and apron lighting will be equipped with LED technology, which allows the lighting to be switched on and off in line with the airport timetable. The installation of charging stations for handling equipment and the stationary ground power supply for aircraft also contribute to a reduction in emissions from aircraft handling. A new storage reservoir for de-icing water is also being developed as part of the construction project. Completion of the apron expansion is planned for spring 2021.

«Connect. Create. Collaborate.»

LabCampus is a cross-sector innovation hub being developed in the northwest of the airport property. Knowledge carriers, global players, start-ups, and creatives working in areas such as mobility, digitalization, and security, will find the workspaces, showrooms, and project and conference spaces here that they need for systematic and networked research and development work. As a meeting point for innovators from the most varied of fields, LabCampus will benefit in particular from the airport’s global access, and the constant presence of thousands of international guests. Construction of the first new office building commenced at the end of 2019 and when completed will offer space for offices, showrooms, and prototyping over an area of 29,400 square meters. The new building is due to open at the start of 2022. The design is based on the urban look and development concept of LabCampus. Additional buildings are to be planned and developed successively in line with demand – including a serviced apartment building, which will be available for short or long-term stays and will offer hotel-style amenities. The first LabCampus CONNECT event took place in April 2019, marking the launch of a series of events for future LabCampus users and partners. LabCampus organized an interactive test lab in Terminal 2 in February 2020 in collaboration with Zentrum Digitalisierung Bayern, the Information Security Hub, and the two companies IABG and ComCode. Partners from the greater Munich area exhibited products and solutions here from the field of «digital security»

Further enhancing access to the airport

Munich Airport is working intensively on improving its connection to public transport. Construction work on the eastward extension of the railway tunnel required for the Erding ring closure is progressing according to schedule. The tunnel itself is to be completed in 2021, and will then be fitted out by DB Netz AG with the required technical equipment for train services. With a view to strengthening feeder traffic to the airport in the long term, a study was commissioned in collaboration with the Bavarian Ministry of Housing, Building, and Transport, to examine options for connecting the airport to cross-regional rail passenger services. The initial results are expected in 2020. Meanwhile, both passengers and airport employees have welcomed the hourly regional trains from Regensburg via Neufahrner Kurve, which went into operation at the end of 2018; gaps in the regular-interval timetable at off-peak times were closed in December 2019 thanks to the timetable change. The planning approval process for the Walpertskirchener Spange project was initiated in March 2019.

In terms of current road projects, further progress has been made on the construction of the new Freising northeastern bypass as part of the 301 federal highway and the Freising western bypass. The northeastern bypass is due to open in fall 2020, with the western bypass scheduled to follow a year later. Within the airport area, FMG is pushing ahead efficiently with the eastward connection via the southern ring road and Erdinger Allee, which is due for completion by the end of 2020.

Third runway remains a key future project

Politics determines the schedule

The ruling coalition parties, CSU and Freie Wähler, agreed to impose a moratorium on the construction of the third runway up to the end of the current legislation period, with the result that the project is currently suspended. The third runway nonetheless remains a strategically important expansion project for Flughafen München GmbH. The planning permission is still valid as endorsed by highest judicial authority.

Important hub function

This moratorium-induced delay in realizing the expansion project may lead to capacity bottlenecks in the runway system from a long-term perspective. In the worst-case scenario, Munich could lose its status as a high-performance hub airport in the international aviation industry. Without the third runway, a question mark would therefore also hang over the future of the existing range of attractive connections to and from Munich.