JustSim Releases Düsseldorf Airport NG for MSFS 2024
Quick summary· AI-generated
The article covers JustSim's new Düsseldorf Airport scenery addon for MSFS 2024, providing extensive historical background on the airport's development from its 1927 opening, through WWII and post-war recovery, to modern operations serving 19.1 million annual passengers. The piece traces key infrastructure milestones including runway extensions, terminal openings (Terminals A, B, C across 1973–1986), and recovery from the 1996 terminal fire. While primarily historical in framing, the article establishes the airport's significance and likely modeling scope for the payware addon.
Excerpt from Threshold
JustSim has recently released their new rendition of Düsseldorf Airport (EDDL) for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, serving the Rhine-Ruhr region with an annual average of 19.1 million passengers, making it the 4th-busiest airport in Germany.
It was opened in April 1927 after two years of construction, and its international debut was in 1929 with SABENA, a Belgian airline, on its scheduled line between Brussels, Antwerp, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg.
The airport ceased to be used for civil purposes in 1939 due to World War 2. It was used by the German military during most of the war, then taken under British control; it was only opened for civilian use in 1948.
As it was still under British occupation, British European Airways operated the first international flights after civil reopening (to London).
In 1950, the airport was transferred to a state-owned operations company, which is still in charge today.
Lufthansa’s famous service between Düsseldorf and its two bases—Frankfurt and Münich—started in 1955 and still exists as of the time of writing this review (and probably for the foreseeable future).
‍
The late 1960s and the impending jet era sparked the need for upgrades, leading to the extension of the main runway to 3000 meters. Work on a new terminal also began during that same period, opening in 1973 as Terminal 2 (now known as Terminal B).
Terminal A opened in 1977, and Terminal C opened in 1986, formation of which is still roughly the same to this day.
In April 1996, sloppy welding work – without proper safety considerations – on an elevated road in front of Terminal A’s arrival area led to sparks hitting the ceiling’s insulation system, which was somehow exposed and extremely flammable – and toxic – due to its composition, quickly spreading around Terminal A and B, and suffocating everyone inside with highly poisonous smoke. Fortunately, primarily due to sheer luck and no responsibility of their own, as the airport’s fire brigade had no training whatsoever for indoor fires or evacuation procedures, on top of a very slow response time by Düsseldorf’s fire brigade, the incident “only” took 17 lives, but it very well could have been much worse.
‍
The aftermath of the incident – the worst airport fire to date – was the destruction of Terminals A and B, and Terminal C sustained enough damage to require redevelopment. Passengers had to be housed in temporary tents until everything was back in working…
Comments (0)
No comments yet.