Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) continues its upward trend, presenting further improvements and an increase in the number of jobs in its 2024 annual results. This builds on the positive developments of previous years. Mayor Felix Heinrichs, Chairman of the Airport's Supervisory Board, sees the figures as confirmation of the direction the airport has taken. The airport's focus is on promoting innovation and attracting future-oriented companies.
Mönchengladbach Airport is proving to be a significant employer in the region, and its number is growing. In 2024, 801 people were employed directly at the airport and in the companies located there, an increase from 787 in the previous year. Particularly encouraging is the significant increase in the number of trainees from 47 to 70, an increase of approximately 50 percent. Managing Director Dr. Ulrich Schückhaus emphasizes the positive signal this growth sends in light of the shortage of skilled workers and the strengthening of the location as an employer and economic area. The airport is committed to both the expansion of existing operations in the maintenance and training sectors and the attraction of new, innovative companies in the aviation sector.
The innovation cluster at MGL is growing continuously. At the beginning of 2025, Thrustworks, a company specializing in the processing of high-performance alloys using 3D printing for the aerospace and other high-tech industries, opened its new location at the airport and plans to expand to 2027 jobs by 15. In 2024, Germandrones GmbH, a specialist in unmanned aerial systems, also decided to establish a production and development site at MGL. The company manufactures parts for its drones and tests them on-site in almost 530 square meters of production space. Managing Director Andreas Ungar emphasizes the importance of these locations for MGL's role as a real-world laboratory for research and development.
Mönchengladbach Airport and Germandrones are already collaborating on various research projects on the integration of unmanned aerial systems, currently in the field of smart city drone logistics. On behalf of the City of Mönchengladbach, MGL is testing the transport of medical samples by drone from hospital to laboratory. This project demonstrates the potential of drones for time-critical and potentially life-saving applications in urban environments. The rapid transport of defibrillators is also being investigated in this context. The developed flight procedures are intended to serve as the basis for general air taxi procedures. The first test flights are planned for later this year.
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