Military base

During the Cold War, at which time an invasion of West Germany was a possibility, Hahn Air Base was a frontline air base, and home of the United States Air Force 50th Tactical Fighter Wing (now the 50th Space Wing), in various designations, as part of the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE). It was one of several USAFE bases in Germany within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of each other including Zweibrücken Air Base, Ramstein Air Base, Sembach, Bitburg Air Base, Spangdahlem Air Base, and Rhein-Main Air Base. These air bases were well situated to reach all locations within Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. Hahn Air Base had more than 13,000 people and three squadrons of F-16 tactical fighters. At the end of the Cold War, the United States was left with a huge excess capacity of expensive airfields in Europe.

As a result, the squadrons at the base were inactivated: the 496th Tactical Fighter Squadron was inactivated on 15 May 1991, the 313th Tactical Fighter Squadron was inactivated on 1 July 1991, and the 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron was inactivated on 30 September 1991. The 50th Tactical Fighter Wing was inactivated on 30 September 1991 and then activated as the 50th Space Wing at Falcon AFB (now Schriever Air Force Base) in Colorado on 30 January 1992. The inactivations had a significant effect on the local economy.

Most of Hahn Air Base was turned over to German civil authorities on 30 September 1993, though USAFE retained a small portion as a radio communications site until its final turnover to German authorities in 2012. It is still frequently used for military charters operated by, amongst others, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.

The German government turned Hahn Air Base into a civil airport with the goal of reducing traffic to Frankfurt Airport, which is located in the neighbouring state of Hesse. One of the main investors in the development of the airport was Fraport AG, the operator of Frankfurt International Airport, which took a 65% ownership stake in the airport.

In 1996, the faculty and police training school of the Rheinland-Pfalz State Police were combined at a new joint facility located at the air base's former housing area.

Losses and ownership transfers

In 2003, the airport reported a loss of €17 million, compared to €20 million in 2002.

In 2007, Etihad Cargo switched its German freighter services from Frankfurt International airport to Frankfurt-Hahn airport.

Effective 1 January 2009, Fraport sold its 65% interest in the airport to the government of Rhineland-Palatinate for the symbolic price of €1. The airport had been losing money and Fraport did not want to continue to fund losses. The transaction increased the stake owned by the government to 82.5%.

Also in 2009, a cargo flight departing from Hahn using the Antonov 225 made the world record for the heaviest single piece of air cargo, a 189.98 tonne generator for a Fossil-fuel power station in Armenia.

In 2013, Etihad Cargo, a major customer of the airport, announced the relocation of its cargo operations from Hahn to Frankfurt Airport.

By January 2014, the airport had accumulated debts of €125 million while passenger and cargo traffic were decreasing. The government pledged €80 million to the airport to avoid bankruptcy.

In February 2014, security staff at the airport initiated a strike action.

In the summer of 2014, Ryanair reduced capacity on several routes and removed 3 of 9 aircraft based at the airport.

In March 2015, Yangtze River Express, the largest freight customer of the airport with 4 cargo destinations and accounting for 50,000 of the airport's 130,000 tons of annual volume, announced it would cease its cargo operations at Frankfurt–Hahn Airport in favor of Munich Airport. Months earlier, Qatar Airways and Aeroflot had also ceased their cargo operations at the airport.

In June 2016, the cargo subsidiary of Air France–KLM announced it would shut down its cargo reloading point at the airport, which was used to collect freight and transfer it to Paris by truck.

Also in June 2016, the government of Rhineland-Palatinate announced the sale of its 82.5% interest in the airport to Shanghai Yiqian Trading Company. However, the deal fell apart a month later after the buyer failed to get approval to make the payment.

In August 2016, RAF-Avia from Latvia announced basing two aircraft at the airport to operate ad-hoc charter flights.

In 2017, Suparna, formerly known as Yangtze River Express, began operating a 747-400F at the airport and AirBridgeCargo and Etihad also expanded cargo operations.

In August 2017, HNA Group acquired the 82.5% stake in the airport owned by the government of Rhineland-Palatinate for €15.1 million. In conjunction with the acquisition, the European Commission agreed to cover up to €25.3 million of losses between 2017 and 2021 while HNA makes improvements to the airport.

In February 2018, Ryanair announced the shift of part of its operations from Hahn to Frankfurt Airport, where it opened a base in 2017. One of five aircraft were moved to Frankfurt Airport and four routes were cut at Frankfurt-Hahn.