Today (November 1), Saarbrücken Airport is launching"Event Wing,"a service for marketing and booking conference rooms, indoor and outdoor spaces, and airport tours. The aim is to position the airport not only as an infrastructure service provider for airlines, but also as an attractive venue for events and experiences.

From seminars and conferences to company celebrations and after-work parties to large events with over a thousand guests and airport tours with a look behind the scenes – with the online platform"Event Wing"(www.eventwing.saarland), Saarbrücken Airport is bundling all event formats that are possible on the premises in addition to flight operations for the first time.

Airport CEO Thomas Schuck: "The airport offers an atmosphere that is unique in Saarland. It therefore makes sense for us to make full use of the potential offered by the location in addition to regular flight operations. In other words, we will actively market our conference rooms and event spaces and gradually expand the popular airport tours. Our airport should become a marker on the event map – for private leisure activities as well as for business customers. To this end, we will continue to develop Event Wing's offerings. We look forward to receiving inquiries."

At www.eventwing.saarland, interested parties can find all offers at a glance, including information on bookable areas and rooms. Booking the popular airport tours has also been made much easier and can now be done online. For individual event formats, the platform offers contact to an experienced team that creates tailor-made offers.

The airport tours were particularly challenging during the development of Event Wing, as it was necessary to balance an interesting offering with security requirements and the smooth running of flight operations. Experienced tour guides were also trained to act as guides for visitor groups.

Practical tests of the performance of the various areas at the airport include, for example, the Saar Music Festival concert (May 18) in the airport hangar with approximately 1,500 guests, the Airport Wies'n organized by Grunder on the festival grounds, and various workshops held by companies in the terminal premises.

www.eventwing.saarland

Photo: Dirk Guldner

Next year, there will be unique offers for special trips to Finland, Norway, and Montenegro from Saarbrücken Airport. The flight schedule for summer 2025 to the Greek island of Rhodes has also already been finalized.

In the new "SCN Travel Special" category, Saarbrücken Airport (SCN) is now bundling exceptional package deals and flight offers for its guests on its website. Three special trips are currently listed for 2025, which can already be booked with tour operators and travel agencies:

• Lapland – Winter magic in Finland

From January 22 to 27, travel operator Vianova will take you from Saarbrücken on an unforgettable winter vacation amid the snow-covered winter forests of Lapland.

• Tromsø, Norway – Thrilling moments north of the Arctic Circle

Also in January (January 23–28), Vianova is offering a trip to see the dancing northern lights and the spectacular winter landscape of northern Norway.

• Montenegro – A scenic gem on the Adriatic Sea

DERTOUR is heading to Montenegro in April (14–21 April). With its great cultural and natural diversity, this country is (still) considered an insider tip in the travel industry.

For more information about special trips and bookings, visit "SCN Travel Special" at: www.flughafen-saarbrücken.de

The popular Greek island of Rhodes is already firmly on the schedule for the 2025 summer flight schedule.

On behalf of TUI Deutschland GmbH, Aegean Airlines will operate flights between Rhodes and Saarbrücken every Sunday from June to October. With a current fleet of 64 aircraft, Aegean Airlines is Greece's largest airline and a member of the Star Alliance. This marks the addition of another airline to SCN's operations.

Rhodes (Aegean Airlines) is now the third summer vacation destination, alongside Mallorca (Eurowings) and Antalya (SunExpress), that can be booked from SCN.

From January 22 to 27, 2025, SCN Travel Special and tour operator vianova will be traveling to Finnish Lapland.

Northern Finland is a true winter paradise and captivates nature lovers, snow enthusiasts, and romantics alike. There, you can watch the colorful display of the Northern Lights by a crackling fireplace, enjoy the glittering winter landscape on snowshoes, or explore the vastness of untouched nature on a sporty dog sled ride.

Book your all-inclusive package now and experience unforgettable moments in this winter wonderland.

From April 25 until the end of May, the German Armed Forces will be deploying personnel to Eastern Europe via Saarbrücken Airport, among other civilian and military airports, as part of the NATO exercise Quadriga 2024.

The soldiers will travel through the airport terminal during regular opening hours. No restrictions on regular flight operations or for passengers are expected.

In the first half of 2024, the German Armed Forces and NATO demonstrate their defense readiness and cold start capability. Around 90,000 soldiers—12,000 of them from the German Armed Forces—are deployed in the major NATO exercise Steadfast Defender 2024. The German contribution of four sub-exercises is known as Quadriga 2024.

From Saarbrücken, the soldiers will be deployed to Hungary and Romania to conduct multinational defense exercises with NATO partners.

Due to high demand, SunExpress is extending the frequency of its summer flights from Saarbrücken to Antalya until November 18. The additional flights are already available for booking. 

SunExpress is seeing sustained high demand for its Turkish destination Antalya during the fall and winter season. The airline is therefore extending its current number of weekly flights to Antalya (7 departures/week) beyond the summer schedule until November 18.

"Turkey is now one of the most popular destinations from Saarbrücken. The extension of the service by SunExpress shows that the route is both attractive and economical. The result is an improved service for our passengers and higher capacity utilization at the airport," said airport CEO Thomas Schuck.

Antalya is a wonderful destination not only in summer but also in winter. Especially when gray autumn and winter days prevail in Germany, we invite you to visit the Turkish Riviera with our flight offers. With its mild climate, rich history, and first-class golf courses, sports enthusiasts, culture lovers, and nature lovers will find something to enjoy here in every season," says Peter Glade, Commercial Director at SunExpress.

Flight supply and demand for holiday destinations from Saarbrücken are usually significantly higher in the spring and summer months than in autumn and winter. The destination Antalya – supplemented by Izmir during the Christmas holidays – was served continuously from Saarbrücken for the first time in the 2023/24 winter flight schedule, establishing solid demand and ensuring that both destinations will also be offered by SunExpress in the coming winter flight schedule.

On February 1, two state-of-the-art airport fire trucks began service at Saarbrücken Airport. The vehicles represent a long-term investment in the safety of passengers and all flight operations, and are both more powerful and more economical than their predecessors.

Airport CEO Thomas Schuck officially commissioned the two new Advancer FLF 60/100 fire engines with a performance presentation. They will replace the two Panther vehicles with immediate effect.

"With the new vehicles, we are working towards the highest level of safety for passengers and airlines in the long term. The models are state-of-the-art and, with their modern equipment, will meet not only current but also future requirements. What's more, they are more economical than the previous vehicles. Nevertheless, I hope that the new vehicles will not have to be used more often than their predecessors," said Tomas Schuck.

The "Advancer" from Albert Ziegler GmbH, an international specialist company for emergency and incident management, has a 10,000-liter water tank, a 1,100-liter foam tank, a 450-kg powder extinguishing system, and an innovative 120-kg CO2 extinguishing system. With a roof launcher and a front launcher, extinguishing agents can be used in parallel and independently of each other. Thermal imaging cameras and laser-assisted extinguishing agent alignment ensure maximum efficiency. Extensive automation allows the crew to concentrate fully on fighting the fire.

The new vehicles are therefore more powerful and, weighing 30 tons on a standard chassis, also significantly lighter than their predecessors, which are almost 20 years old. In addition, they are approved for regular road use and the supply of spare parts is guaranteed for their entire service life. A total of €1.15 million was invested in the two "Advancer" vehicles, including firefighting equipment and special features. This investment will pay for itself in the medium term thanks to its cost-effectiveness.

The "Panthers" are being sold. One of them will be used in a stone factory in Saarland in the future.

At today's annual press conference, the management presented its plans for the coming years and the results for the past year. It became clear that the development since the coronavirus slump has been continuously positive and that the airport is in a solid financial position for the coming years.

At the annual press conference inthe airport terminal, the management of Saarbrücken Airport (SCN), Rita Gindorf-Wagner and Thomas Schuck, gave a positive assessment of 2023 and made it clear that SCN is in a good economic position for the coming years.

The overall situation remains extremely difficult for the entire aviation industry and the travel sector. The disruptive effects of the coronavirus crisis are not yet over. And with consumers holding back on spending due to economic uncertainty, inflation, and crises around the world, as well as ever-increasing security requirements and general cost increases, the industry faces additional challenges. Saarbrücken International Airport is no exception.

Nevertheless, the airport recorded growth in all key figures for last year:

• Since the coronavirus slump, passenger numbers have risen steadily, reaching over 309,000 passengers, an increase of 3.5% compared to the previous year.

• Just under 29,000 passengers used the scheduled services, representing an increase of 12.8%.

• Tourist air traffic will remain the most important pillar of the business in the future: with 280,000 passengers, this segment grew by 2.5% compared to the same period last year.

• The number of scheduled and tourist flights now stands at 2,973, an increase of 3.5%.

The airport's development is therefore in line with the national trend. This also applies to traffic development, with increasing European and decreasing domestic German frequencies. In terms of the recovery rate, i.e., the ratio of the last pre-coronavirus year to the current year, SCN is actually slightly above the German average of just under 80% with almost 85% in terms of passenger numbers.

Passenger numbers are expected to grow to over 345,000 in 2024.

"The airport must be structurally positioned for the coming years in such a way that it can permanently fulfill its role as part of the transport infrastructure and connect Saarland to economic and tourist centers in Germany and abroad. In this way, it contributes to growth and employment in Saarland as a center for business, science, and tourism. A solid economic basis with a balanced operating result and forward-looking investments in the potential of the location are crucial for this," explains Managing Director Thomas Schuck.

Managing directors Gindorf-Wagner and Schuck provided detailed explanations of the measures the airport will take to achieve a balanced operating result by the end of the European Union's notification period in 2027. The airport will only receive state aid for the amounts necessary to offset operating losses. The security costs for the fire department, passenger and baggage screening, federal police, etc. – just under €1.6 million in 2023 – were not taken into account. This is because these are sovereign activities that SCN performs on behalf of the state and are compensated for in the course of cost reimbursement.

Measures that are planned or have already been partially implemented as part of the process of securing the future of the business affect infrastructure, passengers, employees, and commercial partners alike:

• Numerous investments in security (e.g., concrete elements at critical points, enhanced video surveillance), technology (e.g., completely renovated runway strips and approach masts, modern lighting), and energy management (e.g., expansion of the local heating network, acquisition of PV systems on the southern side) ensure that the airport is well positioned for future developments.

• A new, service-oriented website with an app offers booking options for flights, trips, hotels, and rental cars, as well as assistance with current questions.

• The SCN is to be developed into an event venue, with conference rooms and event spaces available for booking by interested parties. The spectrum ranges from workshops and after-work parties to cultural events and guided tours. Initial measures are to begin this year.

• Cooperation with existing partners such as the German Armed Forces (207 flight movements in 2023) or local maintenance and repair companies.

• Another focus will be the further expansion of the airport as an attractive employer. 

Due to its age structure, the airport's workforce is currently undergoing a generational change. A shortage of skilled workers, demographic change, competition from other large companies in the region, and—due to its role in the security chain—specific technical requirements all make it difficult to find suitable personnel. In order to retain employees and attract new ones, we offer a wide range of attractive benefits, from flexible working time models and further training measures to numerous perks as part of our occupational health management program. In this way, we want to remain one of the top employers in the region in the future," emphasizes Managing Director Gindorf-Wagner.