Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport

Düsseldorf Mönchengladbach Airport is a small regional airport located 4.4km northeast of Mönchengladbach and 15.2km west of Düsseldorf. It is co-owned by the company which also runs Düsseldorf Airport (70%) and the local utility company NVV AG (30%).HistoryThe airport was founded in 1955 as a small airstrip for gliders. A hangar was built in 1957 and the next year a control tower and passenger terminal were constructed. The construction of the 1200m runway, that is still used today, began in 1970 and it was completed in 1973.From 1996 until 2002 the Belgian airline VLM operated direct services to London City Airport with Fokker 50 aeroplanes providing up to 24 weekly flights in each direction. From 1996 to 1999 the British Airline Debonair operated services to London Luton Airport, and when Debonair was put into administration, the services were taken over by European Air Express who also operated services to Munich and Sylt/Westerland until the airline ceased operations in 2007.The British Army of the Rhine undertook an exercise in 1955, in accord with the then NATO-Strategy of quick reaction. They built a basic 'field-made' airfield on the grass-covered area for an air-landing-exercise on this site. On finishing this exercise, the British Army of the Rhine handed the area over to the Mayor of Mönchengladbach for use as an airfield.