Departure
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Hannover Airport (ICAO EDDV, IATA HAJ) is the international airport serving Hanover, capital of Lower Saxony, lying at Langenhagen a few miles north of the city centre. It is a major hub for Eurowings, Corendon Airlines Europe and TUI fly Deutschland, with a distinctive triple-runway layout that makes it an interesting and demanding destination for the simulator VFR pilot working alongside heavy commercial traffic.
Hannover Airport, ICAO code EDDV and IATA code HAJ, is the international airport of Hanover, the capital of the German state of Lower Saxony. It is operated by Flughafen Hannover-Langenhagen GmbH and sits in the town of Langenhagen, north of Hanover itself. The field opened in its present form in 1952, replacing an earlier airfield that had lain within Hanover's city limits, and has grown into one of Germany's larger airports, serving as a base for Eurowings, Corendon Airlines Europe and TUI fly Deutschland. For a simulator pilot, its unusual three-runway configuration, mix of long-haul-capable concrete runways and a shorter general aviation strip, and round-the-clock operation make it a rewarding and busy field to fly into.
Hannover Airport lies at Langenhagen, roughly 11 kilometres north of the centre of Hanover, at coordinates 52.4602N 9.6835E and an elevation of 171 feet. As a major international airport it sits within controlled airspace with its own tower and approach control; approach services are provided under the callsign Hannover Director, with area radar coverage from Bremen Radar. Langen Information provides the wider regional flight information service. Pilots transiting or arriving in the area should expect to be worked by ATC throughout the approach and departure phases given the scale of scheduled traffic using the field.
Hannover Airport has three parallel east-west runways. The main runway, 09L/27R, is a hard-surfaced, lit runway 10,471 feet long with ILS on both directions, capable of handling the largest airliners. A second parallel runway, 09R/27L, is also hard-surfaced and lit, measuring 7,674 feet, likewise equipped with ILS on both approaches. The third and shortest runway, 09C/27C, is a hard-surfaced, lit runway used mainly by general aviation and smaller aircraft, with a declared length of 2,358 feet from the 09C threshold and 1,999 feet from the 27C threshold; it has no ILS. Field elevation is 171 feet.
Hannover's radio environment includes an AFIS frequency of 119.825 MHz, Approach (Director) on 119.6 MHz, and the airport's ATIS broadcasting on 136.575 MHz. Ground movement is handled on 121.955 MHz (Hannover Ground/Rollkontrolle), and Bremen Radar provides area radar service on 131.325 MHz. Tower services are split across two frequencies, 120.18 MHz and 120.405 MHz, both listed as Hannover Tower/Turm. ILS approaches are available for both main runways, 09L/27R and 09R/27L.
The general aviation terminal, the Karl Jatho Terminal, is located near the middle runway, 09C/27C, and can serve as a useful visual reference for general aviation traffic operating separately from the main airline terminals.
Hannover Airport opened at Langenhagen in 1952, replacing an earlier airfield that had stood within Hanover's 1952 city boundary. Two modern passenger terminals, A and B, opened in 1973; their compact design was influential enough to be used as a model for Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport. From 1957 to 1990 the airport hosted the Internationale Luft- und Raumfahrtausstellung, at the time Germany's largest air show, which relocated to Berlin in 1992 following a fatal accident in 1988 in which a Royal Air Force Chinook helicopter struck a jet bridge with its rotor, and in the wake of German reunification. Terminal C, the largest of the three passenger terminals, opened in 1998 to handle growing traffic, adding further boarding gates. In September 2006 the general aviation terminal beside the middle runway was renamed the Karl Jatho Terminal, honouring the Hanoverian aviation pioneer Karl Jatho.
Hannover Airport remains one of the few airports in Germany open 24 hours a day, although only a limited number of passenger and cargo flights operate between 11pm and 4am. It functions as a base for Eurowings, Corendon Airlines Europe and TUI fly Deutschland, and continues to handle scheduled and charter services across Europe and to leisure destinations. General aviation traffic is accommodated separately through the Karl Jatho Terminal near the middle runway.
