Mainz-Finthen Airport

Mainz-Finthen Airport . is an airport in Germany, located about 3 miles southwest of Mainz; approximately 320 miles southwest of Berlin.The airport serves the general aviation community, with no commercial airline service available. There are also a large number of sailplanes at the airfield. The airport operator is holding Flugplatz Mainz Betriebsgesellschaft mbH on behalf of the former operator of the Mainz Aviation Club.FacilitiesIn addition to the airfield operations, Mainz Finthen offers instructional training for helicopters, ultralight aircraft and gyrocopters. Powered flight and gliding training are also offered. The airport has a modern refueling system offering AvGas, Jet-A1 and premium gasoline.The United States Army operates a SIGINT station at the airport. The geographically closest US Army unit is the 66th Military Intelligence Brigade at Wiesbaden Army Airfield. US Army also maintains an urban-warfare training facility consisting of a few houses at the Mainz Finthen airport.The airport has a commercial café and snack bar (open during summer flight season). The viewing platform offers a view over the airport operations.HistoryThe airport was first opened in 1939 as a Luftwaffe military airfield (Fliegerhorst Ober-Olm). It was seized by the United States Army in 1945, and used by the United States as a NATO facility (Finthen Army Airfield) until the end of the Cold War. In 1992, the military airfield was returned to the Federal German government, which made it available to private operators as a civil airport. A United States Army Radar station and a training facility remained at the airport.