History

1970 - 1976: Large-capacity jets come to Hamburg

1970: On 30th March, Lufthansa's first large-capacity aircraft, a Boeing 747, approached the hill in front of the No. 1 and No. 2 hangars. A "jumbo jet "stands 19.33 metres above the ground, so a new gate had to be built specially for the giant airliners. Some advance planning had been necessary at Hamburg Airport. Ready for service by the winter of 1970, the jumbo gate featured a concourse with two movable airbridges, a large waiting-rom and a baggage carousel.

1971: The new decade saw a real boom in the tourist industry, and Hamburg Airport responded with the construction of a new charter terminal between the main building and the northern administration building.

1972/73: After this boom, 1972/73 brought a decline in traffic. Passenger figures, the number of take-offs and landings and the volume of air freight all declined. There were a number of different reasons. On the one hand, the air traffic controllers at all the German airports worked to rule from June through November 1973: this caused many cancellations and delays. And on the other, the fall-off in air traffic was also due in part to the transit agreement signed by West Germany and East Germany in 1971: many people who used to fly into Berlin now drove or took the train. Moreover, the oil crisis led to a substantial increase in the price of jet fuel, which was passed on to passengers in the form of more expensive tickets.
In 1971 the German government had passed a law to prevent unnecessary aircraft noise, and under the terms of the new law every airport was required to install a noise measuring system, which Hamburg Airport did in 1973. The year before, the Officer for Aircraft Noise Control – a new position set up by the city council – moved into his offices at Fuhlsbüttel.

1974: By the mid-seventies the lost ground of the preceding years had been made up, and Fuhlsbüttel found itself participating in a new upwards trend. Thus work was started on a new 1.5 million DM project, namely the conversion of the "B" hangar into the "C" (charter) terminal.

1975: The new facilities for outgoing holidaymakers and foreign workers flying home to visit were put into service.

1976: The extension of the air cargo handling facilities was completed. On 9th February, Lufthansa took delivery of its first Airbus at Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm's (MBB) plant in Hamburg-Finkenwerder.

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