Karlsruhe-Forchheim Airport

The closure was a direct result of military conversion following the end of the Cold War. The United States Army, which operated the site as Forchheim Army Airfield, withdrew its forces from Germany. Concurrently, the nearby and much larger Canadian Forces Base Baden-Söllingen was being converted into the new regional civil airport, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB). This new facility made the smaller Forchheim airfield redundant for both military and potential future civilian use.

The airport no longer exists. The entire site was completely demolished and redeveloped in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The former airfield grounds are now home to the Messe Karlsruhe (Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre), which opened in 2003, and an adjacent commercial and industrial park. There are no physical remnants of the runways or airport infrastructure.

Originally built as a Luftwaffe airfield in the 1930s, the site was taken over by the US Army after World War II. As Forchheim Army Airfield, it became a key base for US Army aviation in the Northern Baden-Württemberg area. Its primary operations involved helicopter and light fixed-wing aircraft for transport, liaison, and reconnaissance missions supporting the large US military community in Karlsruhe. The airfield was also a vibrant center for civil aviation, sharing its facilities with several German flying clubs, including the Luftsportgemeinschaft Karlsruhe, which conducted gliding and powered flight operations from the site for decades. This dual military-civilian use was a defining characteristic of its operational history.

There are zero plans or prospects for reopening the airport. The land has been permanently repurposed for a major commercial exhibition center, and the region's aviation needs are fully met by the nearby Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport (FKB).