Copenhagen may be the capital city of Denmark, however the capital city of LEGO fandom is most certainly Billund, Denmark. This small town in central Jutland is home to The LEGO Group’s headquarters, as well as the fan-focused attractions of LEGOLAND Billund and the LEGO House – The Home of the Brick. However, building a LEGO-centric community is just one part of the Billund story. The other part was finding a way to make it easier for people to travel there and enjoy it all.
Billund International Airport: Photo Link SkyTrax
This is the story of Billund International Airport, and how it came to become the second most important airport in all of Denmark, and the first most important in connecting the LEGO Group (TKG) to the world. Below are translated excerpts from an article previously published on Brick.it Magazine, [with a bit of new information also added for clarity].
The Origins of Billund’s Airport
While travelling great distances is viewed as child’s play by many today, that has not always been the case. Before the prevalence of air travel, traveling long distances internationally presented both significant economic and logistical challenges. These challenges were especially true in Billund, a fact that the LEGO Group was all too aware of.
Billund Train Station: Fotograf: Det Kgl. Bibliotek, Aalborg Luftfoto - Dato: 1948-1952 - LINK til kilde
During LEGO’s early history, Billund was served by a railway station… and in 1957, that railway station was closed. With transportation by train no longer reaching their doorstep, the international company had to find a new solution to their transportation needs. [The rail line to that station was abandoned in the 1970s, and no longer exists today. In recent times, a new railway line has been proposed to connect the existing Danish rail network at Jelling to Billund Airport and Billund itself. In 2014, the planning of the line was agreed… however, in 2021, the Danish government cancelled the project.]
1957 was also the year that the LEGO company celebrated its 25th anniversary with a ceremony held in Billund. Without a train servicing Billund, however, the invited journalists had to arrive by plane at a small airport in nearby Vandel. That small “airport” amounted to a small grass runway that had been built during the Second World War [it was finally closed in 2003].
Vandel Airfield Via forgottenairfields.com and lw1944.flyfotoarkivet.dk
It was here that the idea of creating an airport in Billund had taken root in the Kristiansens’ imagination: “Why not Billund?” By then, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen had established his business vision for creating export agreements and secured production of his brick locally for their customers. The time had now come for his company to expand its vision and find a solution that would allow his business partners, especially the directors of the foreign branches of The LEGO Group, to reach Billund easily.
Godtfred, like his father Ole Kirk Kristiansen, was a far-sighted visionary and shared in his toy-making genius. Godtfred also had a keen interest in city life and town layouts, which manifested itself in their Monypoli board game of 1947, where a model of a car and a figurine of a traffic policeman appeared for the first time (These parts would be later found in their early Town Plan sets of the 1950s).
Knowing this, it is easy to imagine Billund airport as yet another one of Godtfred’s ideas born from a LEGO building session, expanding his brick-built town and connecting it to the world. In reality, it would be the LEGO headquarters that he was connecting, putting it within reach of private planes and saving both time and money in transportation costs.
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(Monypoli Set via Miniland.nl)
The Idea Finally Takes Flight
In 1961, the project to build a private LEGO airport in Billund finally began. The first thing Godtfred did was buy a plot of land just north of Billund and then had a 900m grass runway built. He worked with a small operator from South Jutland, Danfoss, to establish a plan for the first flights, and also helped them set up in Billund by splitting the cost of purchasing a small four-seater propeller plane.
The first LEGO hangar in 1961 Via Brickfetish
Godtfred also needed to obtain a dedicated plane for The LEGO Group. In the summer of 1962, he collaborated with Sonderjyllands Flyselskab of Sondeborg and obtained a larger aircraft, a Piper Apache. It was this plane that was the first to land on the LEGO-owned Billund airstrip, piloted by cousins Hans Erik Christensen and Hans Jørgen Christensen, thus becoming the first two LEGO pilots. Godtfred and his wife Edith were the first to receive them upon their landing, marking the inauguration of the airstrip on 10 September 1962.
Godtfred and Edith Kirk Christiansen with the two LEGO pilots and the first owned airplane in 1962 Via LEGO
Opening of the airport on 10 September 1962 Via LEGO
Transferring to Public Ownership
Two years later in 1964, the airport was expanded with a 1660m asphalt runway. LEGO transferred ownership of the airport to a new company, Billund Airport AmbA. Corporate agreements between LEGO and Billund Airport AmbA saw The LEGO Group commit to operating the airport for the next five years and to subsidize the expansion of the runway system. In return, The LEGO Group would have the right to unlimited use of the airport.
Billund Airport opens to the public in 1964 Via LEGO
The new company was a real novelty for local politics, as Billund Airport AmbA was a joint commercial venture (cooperative society) between several municipalities: Billund, Fredericia, and Kolding, and headed by the governor of Vejle. This was only possible thanks to the intervention of Godtfred, who ensured the success of the project for the various municipalities.
Opening of Billund Airport, 1 November 1964 Via LEGO
So the new public airport, named Billund Lufthaven, was officially opened on 1 November 1964 with SAS (Scandinavian Air Lines) offering a twice-daily service between Billund and Kastrup. A special LEGO brochure was created for that important day. The LEGO Group’s five-year operating commitment meant that Godtfred Kirk Christiansen would be the director of the airport. Passengers would arrive/depart from the LEGO hangar until the first public terminal finally opened in spring 1966. From there, the number of passengers and flights grew faster than anyone had anticipated.
From the left: Godtfred, Peter Ravn (Mayor of Kolding ), Willy Sørensen (Mayor of Vejle) and AM Wamberg (Governor of Vejle County right) observe Johannes Nielsen, Director of SAS Airlines (seated), sign an agreement to provide the service between Billund Lufthaven and Copenhagen Airport , 1964 Via Brickfetish
Billund Airport Spreads Its Wings
One of the reasons for the growth in air traffic from this regional airport was the holiday travel boom that occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Due to the high volume of both flights and passengers, the runway was extended several times to accommodate larger planes that could carry more passengers. In 1971, the runway reached its current length of 3100 meters.
Another milestone for the airport came in 1984 when Maersk Air took over domestic air travel from SAS, Denmark, starting late that year, and in 1985, they added the route to London. In just five years, there was a real expansion with flights to Gatwick, London, transforming it into a truly international airport.
In 1997, the old airport company was transformed into a public limited company, Billund Airport A/S, with shareholder members including Vejle County and the municipalities of Vejle, Kolding, Grindsted, Billund and Give. That year, an architectural competition was held for the design of a new terminal to be located to the north of the original airport. KHR Architects won the contract and completed the construction in collaboration with COWI.
Sketch of the new Billund Airport project Via KHR Architecture
This first phase of expansion for Billund Airport was the construction of a new passenger terminal. The new facility opened on 30 May 2002, with royal family present at its inauguration.
Inauguration of the new passenger terminal. Edith Kirk Christiansen (third left, in blue), Camilla and Kjeld (to Edith’s right). On the far right is Princess Benedikte of Denmark. 30 May 2002 Via Brickfetish
By mid-2009, the airport would be served by nine different airlines with regular flight services. KLM would have the busiest route, with over 200,000 passengers per year flying to and from Amsterdam. In 2011, Ryanair announced that Billund Airport would be a base for two Boeing 737s, effective from 25 March 2012, and confirmed five new routes flying from Billund. That summer of 2012, Billund would have flights established to 19 destinations. Flight routes have only increased since that time.
Since its inception, the airport has experienced remarkable and exponential growth, closely tied to the region’s overall economic and cultural development. The airport has continuously expanded from having only two domestic departures per day to sending its passengers to destinations all over the world with many departures per day. These passengers are primarily served by the recently completed 40,000 m² passenger terminal, designed to handle 3.5 million passengers per year, along with a second terminal.
However despite that growth, the airport has still faced multiple challenges. The most recent of those is the friction between Danish flight policy and Ryanair. Unfortunately, due to a new Danish law effective in 2025, which imposes a tax on every passenger passing through Danish airports, Ryanair has withdrawn from Billund Airport. The immediate impact of this exit will certainly be felt by those traveling to Billund this year, and it will be interesting to see how these challenges are met.
Cargo Center Billund
That second terminal mentioned (aka the old terminal) houses the activities of Cargo Center Billund (CCB) and a Business and General Aviation Center where private aircraft are handled (corporate and business aircraft, as well as air taxis). The CCB is home to General Sales Agents, numerous freight forwarders (such as Maersk Air Cargo and DHL Aviation), and the cargo departments of many airlines (including Air France/KLM Cargo and SAS Cargo).
All told, the airport employs more than 450 people in the air cargo center. In addition, the CCB has service rooms totaling approximately 18,000 m², equipped to handle transfers between trucks and aircraft, dismantle and build pallets and flight containers, and handle both cold and hot temperature-sensitive cargo.
Maersk Air Cargo HUB Inauguration, 2023 - from the left: Ribbon cutting with Jan Hessellund, Minister of Transport Thomas Danielsen , Minister of Economy and Industry Morten Bodskov , Aymeric Chandavoine Via Via Ritzau
Billund Airport has also been approved by the Danish and EU veterinary authorities as a border control station. Therefore, both the veterinary and fisheries control have an office and a laboratory at the airport where they can immediately analyze samples. The airport cargo hall is also equipped with the necessary infrastructure to house animals for a short period as needed.
A Fleet of LEGO Aircraft
Now that we have covered Billund Airport’s growth as a transportation hub, bringing millions of visitors to Denmark, what about The LEGO Group’s own usage of the airport during that time? Remember that it was the Kristiansen family (i.e., The LEGO Group) that had looked to create this airport in Billund to serve their own corporate purposes. The family companies (TLG and Kirkbi A/S) had owned at least one aircraft for corporate flights between 1962 and 2004. They started with that Piper Apache in 1962, and up through the French Dassault Falcon 900B which was sold as part of the 2004 financial restructuring.
Kirkbi A/S headquarters, Billund Via Capital of children
In 2011, The LEGO Group’s finances were recovering. At that point, they looked to rebuild their aircraft fleet with the following jets from Dassault Aviation:
Falcon 7X since 2011
Falcon 2000LXS from 2015
Falcon 8X from around 2017
These jets, operated by Air Alsie under the company code “MMD”, were used for both LEGO and Kirkbi managers and employees, and were also available for charter. The corporate jet division, which had 16 employees and an administration building in Billund, remained in operation until February of this year (2025). Kirkbi A/S announced the closure with this statement:
“The decision to close the aircraft department is the result of a sharp decline in demand for Kirkbi corporate aircraft in recent years, combined with an increased focus on sustainability and reducing CO2 emissions, which has made maintenance unsustainable.”
After a total of 63 years of operation, this announcement would mark the end of the LEGO passenger aviation division inside Billund Airport (with just The LEGO Group’s airfreight cargo shipments remaining).
An Airport Immortalized in LEGO
In addition to establishing a reputation in Danish air transportation, Billund Airport has also left an iconic mark on LEGO sets. LEGO produced a very special LEGO Architecture set in 2014 which could only be purchased inside the departure terminal of Billund Airport. For collectors, set 4000016 Billund Airport has become quite a rarity. In 2018 a re-edition of this set was produced, the LEGO Architecture set 40199 Billund Airport, which is now also retired and out of production.
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(Set 4000016 and set 40199 via BrickLink)
Thanks to Gary Istock of the iconic Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide, we also discovered that around 1965 a strange set was made for the airline SAS: A small rectangular box with the iconic LEGO logo of the 1960s (in colored stripes), and the SAS logo on one side with an aerial map of their routes. In 1992, polybag 1769 made this available again for some airlines, including SAS. In 2004, set 4032 Passenger Plane a brought new series of sets dedicated to various airlines, including SAS, (before the official dedication of the 2014 set).
(Some versions of the set 4032 via BrickLink)
A Legacy in Flight
Starting from the seed of an idea, that grass runway of Billund Airport has grown into the second busiest and second largest airport in Denmark (behind Copenhagen Airport), and one of the most visited international airports in Europe. The fact that the main international airport in Danish Jutland is located in the town of Billund is a testament to The LEGO Group and the entrepreneurial spirit established by the Kristiansen family. Without these ingredients, the original airport would certainly not have been created… and travels to the capital of our LEGO fandom would be a bit farther from our reach.
Billund Airport from above Via Billund Airport
What other Billund story do you want to know? Let us know in the comments below!
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