The airport’s surrounding commercial area represents one of Kassel’s most important economic development areas. €150 million will be invested, not only in the airport itself but also the adjoining industrial park.
Kassel-Calden airfield and business park
The Kassel-Calden airfield will be turned into a full regional airport, equipped to handle scheduled, charter, commercial, and cargo traffic. The project is set to make the region of North Hessen, South-east Lower Saxony, and Thuringia more easily accessible to travellers and to business.
The development project includes the extension of existing runways and a new terminal for incoming and outgoing passengers. Other necessary buildings and technical facilities are also planned.
The airport will be within one or two flying hours from almost all of the continent’s major economic centres. Kassel-Calden is already well connected to much of Germany via the country’s road/carriageway system. The main urban centres in the north, west and south of the state can be reached quickly via the existing motorways A7, A44 and A49.
The industrial and business area encompasses 22 hectares and 10 hectares are still available for industrial and commercial development. A new industrial area of 9.5 hectares, with access to the new runway is planned, as part of the extension of the airport. In addition, more areas will open up for hotels and service providers.
Currently, the airport business park is home to several big companies operating in fields related to air transportation: Eurocopter, Helitec, PIPER AG and Jet-Aviation. 600 employees work in this industrial area.
Kassel business region
Downtown Kassel, the railway hub in Wilhelmshöhe and the Kassel freight village (GVZ) are only 20 minutes away from Kassel airport by car. It is also linked to the city via the public transportation system.
Kassel is itself a compact regional centre with a metropolitan reach that stretches to a population of one million people. Besides the industry park at the airport, the area is also home to Industriepark Kassel, the biggest contiguous industrial park between Hanover and Frankfurt. It is counted as one of the most commercially significant locations in Germany. Some 400 companies with over 9,000 employees are currently based there.
The Kassel business region’s largest employer is Volkswagen, followed by SMA Solar Technology and Daimler Automotive.
For further information, please see our pages on the Economic Development Agency Kassel.
