A Milestone in Aviation
The cornerstone of the first airship hangar in Hamburg Fuhlsbüttel was laid in 1911, making Hamburg's aviation history over a century old. A hundred years later, in January 2011, corporate, academic and state government interests came together to officially found the Aviation Cluster Hamburg Metropolitan Region Association. Along with three major companies ― Airbus, Lufthansa Technik and Hamburg Airport ― more than 300 suppliers and various technological and scientific institutions contribute their expertise to the cluster. Together, they cover all areas of aircraft construction, aircraft maintenance and airport operations.
Altogether, more than 40,000 specialists are employed in the aviation industry in Hamburg. Their goals and strategic decisions are determined by the Hamburg Aviation Board, whose central office ― Hamburg Aviation Services ― handles various tasks of operational management.
The Future of Air Travel and Trade
The common goal is to make aviation even more economical, ecological, comfortable, reliable and flexible. This strategy helped the network receive the Federal Government accolade of Leading-Edge Cluster, earning them EUR 40 million in research funding. In addition, Hamburg Aviation was honoured with the GOLD Label by the European Commission's ECEI Initiative in 2014, recognising it as one of Europe’s best managed clusters.
For more information, see Hamburg Aviation.
