Francfort 1935

On 16 November 1909, the world's first airline was founded in Frankfurt am Main: The Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft (DELAG). DELAG then built the first airport in Frankfurt, called Airship Base at Rebstock, which was located in Bockenheim in the western part of the city and was primarily used for airships in the beginning. It opened in 1912 and was extended after World War I, but in 1924, an expert's report already questioned the possibility of further expansions at this location. With the foundation of Deutsche Luft Hansa in 1926, a rapid boom of civilian air travel started, and soon the airship base became too small to handle the demand. Plans for a new and larger airport located in the Frankfurt City Forest south-west of Schwanheim were approved in 1930 but were not realized due to the Great Depression. After the Machtergreifung in 1933, the government revived the plans and started the construction of the new airport.