Basel-Sternenfeld Airport

The airport was replaced by the larger, more modern Basel-Mulhouse Airport (now EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg). The Sternenfeld site was always considered a provisional solution and had several major drawbacks: it was too small, its location between the town of Birsfelden and the Rhine river made expansion impossible, its grass runways could not support the larger, heavier aircraft emerging after WWII (like the DC-4), and it was frequently affected by fog from the river.

The site of the former airport has been completely redeveloped and shows no visible trace of its aviation past. The area is now occupied by the Port of Birsfelden (Rheinhafen Birsfelden), a major inland port facility on the Rhine, and the 'Sportanlagen Sternenfeld', a large complex of public sports fields and facilities.

Basel-Sternenfeld was the first official airport for the city of Basel, opening in 1920 on a former military parade ground ('Exerzierplatz Sternenfeld'). It was a crucial hub in the pioneering days of European civil aviation. Its most significant historical milestone was the founding of the airline 'Balair' (a direct predecessor of the national carrier Swissair) at the airport in 1925. During its operational years, it handled the region's primary passenger and mail traffic, with routes connecting Basel to major European cities such as Paris, Frankfurt, London, and Zurich.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The land has been irreversibly repurposed for vital port infrastructure and community recreational use. The Basel region is well-served by the modern and strategically located EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, making a second airport in such a densely populated area unnecessary and unfeasible.