EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (IATA: MLH, BSL, EAP, ICAO: LFSB)[note 1][1][a] is an international airport in the administrative commune of Saint-Louis, in the French Alsace part of the Trinational Eurodistrict of Basel. It is 4.7 km (2.9 mi) west of the tripoint of France, Germany, and Switzerland, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) northwest of the city of Basel in 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.
History
Aerial view
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.[6]
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"(fr:Route douanière de l'aéroport à Bâle) (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.[7]
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 using Airbus A310s.[8][9] The main reason it launched the route was that it had heard another carrier was planning to begin flights from Basel to Newark; Swissair wanted to start flying the route before the other airline did. The company also hoped to attract people working for the pharmaceutical companies in Basel.[10]Crossair, a subsidiary of Swissair, code-shared on the flight. The carrier operated a hub at the EuroAirport, from which it flew to 40 regional destinations.[11]
Development in the 2000s
Swissair terminated the flight to Newark in March 2000, saying it suffered from low occupancy.[9][12] The local newspaper bz Basel commented that the airline did not advertise it well.[10]
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed] In 2004 the low-cost carrier easyJet opened a base at Basel and the passenger totals rose again, reaching 4 million in 2006.[citation needed]
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.[13] 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.[14]
In May 2008, Air Transat commenced seasonal service to Montreal.[15][16] The airline flew an Airbus A310 on the route.[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 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 reassigned to the airport of Mollis.[3]
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. The entry and exit area is divided into French and Swiss parts.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at the EuroAirport:[27]
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.[56][57] The Swiss division Swiss Aviation Software has its head office there as well.[58]
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.[59] The head office moved to its current location, the Villa Guggenheim in Allschwil, in proximity to EuroAirport, on 1 October 2011.[60]
Hello, a now defunct Swiss airline, had its head office in the General Aviation area of EuroAirport.[61]
Prior to the formation of Swiss International Air Lines, the regional airline Crossair was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport.[62] Prior to its dissolution, Crossair Europe was headquartered on the grounds of EuroAirport as well.[63]
Ground transportation
Car
Location of the airport relative to Basel and its surroundings
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[64] 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.[65]
On the French exit, Saint-Louis' DistriBus bus No. 11 connects the airport to the Saint-Louis railway station in 10 minutes.[66]
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.[67][68]
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.[69]
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,[when?] the tramway serves St Louis SNCF Station, where one 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.[citation needed]
^IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area
^German: Flughafen Basel-Mülhausen-Freiburg, French: Aéroport de Bâle-Mulhouse-Fribourg, Italian: Aeroporto di Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburgo, Romansh: Eroport da Basilea-Mulhouse-Friburg
^"Bulletin Statistique du trafic aérien commercial - année 2021" [Commercial Air Traffic Statistics Bulletin - year 2021] (PDF; 4,45 MB). ecologie.gouv.fr (in French). Ministère de la Transition écologique et de la Cohésion des territoires. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
^"General conditions of useArchived 28 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine". EuroAirport. Retrieved on 24 September 2009. "The Site is published by Basel–Mulhouse Airport, a Franco-Swiss public enterprise governed by the international convention of 4 July 1949 concerning its construction and operation and the headquarters of which are situated at 68730 Blotzheim, France".
^"CONTACT". Swiss Aviation Software. Retrieved on 17 September 2011. "Swiss AviationSoftware Ltd. BSLSAS/MA P.O.Box, CH-4002 Basel, Switzerland Marketing & Administration" The location is implied by this pictureArchived 27 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine which is of the Swiss head office at Basel Airport.
^"How to find us". Farnair Europe. Retrieved on 8 December 2010.
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