Lufthansa Is Planning To House Historic Aircraft At New Frankfurt Airport Conference Center

The Lufthansa Group plans to build a new conference and visitor center adjacent to its headquarters. The facility is set to open in 2026, coinciding with 100 years of history of the German flag carrier. The highlight of the new conference center will be its contents. The building will house two historic aircraft owned by the airline.

While Berlin is the capital city of Germany, Lufthansa and the Lufthansa Group are headquartered at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), which happens to be Germany’s busiest airport. Now, the airline group is looking to expand its footprint at the airport further.

Building a new visitors’ center

Today, the Lufthansa Group announced it would be building a new building adjacent to the Lufthansa Aviation Center, which is its headquarters. The new building is being angled as a visitor center and conference center. The group intends that the facility will be used as “a venue for new forms of collaboration for the Group’s employees”.

Photo: Lufthansa

However, the carrier also revealed that the facility should become a popular location for aviation enthusiasts, where it will showcase the airline’s history. The highlight of the building will be two historic aircraft, a Junkers Ju 52 and a Lockheed L-1649 Super Star, on display in the foyer.

About the Junkers Ju 52

The Junkers Ju 52 was built in 1936, meaning it will be 90 years old when Lufthansa celebrates its 100th anniversary. According to a now-deleted “Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung” webpage, Lufthansa first operated this aircraft as D-AQUI. With four crew, the aircraft would carry 16 passengers.

Photo: Gregor Schlaeger | Lufthansa

The aircraft eventually found itself doing airshows in the United States, and Lufthansa bought it back in 1984, going on to restore the aircraft. It was sent to be stored in a Bermen warehouse along with the Super Star in late 2019.

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100 years of Lufthansa

Lufthansa will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2026. The airline can trace its heritage back to Deutsche Luft Hansa AG, which was founded on January 6th, 1926, and took its first flight on April 6th of that year. Today, the airline is not the same legal entity that was founded in 1926. This was dissolved in 1951 by the Allied nations following the conclusion of World War 2.

Rather, the current company was founded as the Aktiengesellschaft für Luftverkehrsbedarf in 1953. This company bought the name, trademark, and colors from the original Lufthansa on August 6th, 1954, and took its first flight on April 1st, 1955.

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Are you excited to see these new aircraft getting a new home in Frankfurt? Let us know what you think and why in the comments!