Munich Airport’s new Terminal 1 Pier has started regular operations.

To mark the occasion, Thomas Hoff Andersson, Managing Director & Chief Operating Officer at Munich Airport, personally welcomed travellers. He must have been busy, as on the first day over 11,000 passengers travelled through the Terminal 1 pier, and more than 70 flights were successfully operated.

The first arrival of an American Airlines flight from Charlotte at the new pier was greeted with a water salute in Munich. Delta Air Lines operated the day’s first departure to Detroit. A Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-900 provided a special highlight in the morning, arriving at the new pier in a special retro livery to mark the airline’s 80th anniversary.

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Air Serbia has used the new pier to re-open the Belgrade-Munich route after an 18-year gap. The airline will be using Embraer E195 E-Jets and will operate a flight each day of the week.

The pier has been under construction for seven years. Spanning an area of approximately 95,000 square meters, the 360-meter-long new building has the capacity to handle up to six million additional passengers per year. The six-level facility can handle up to twelve short- and medium-haul aircraft or six wide-body jets simultaneously. It is home to approximately 40 international airlines.

Jost Lammers, CEO of Munich Airport, emphasizes the importance of the expanded Terminal 1 for the airport’s development: “The new pier represents the future of our airport: more capacity, more comfort, more international connections. As a modern gateway to the world, it strengthens our role as a leading European aviation hub.”