Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate is insolvent.
The responsible district court in Bad Kreuznach announced this on Tuesday.
The airport is majority owned by the Chinese HNA Airport Group.
The airport had 1.5 million passengers before the Corona crisis in 2019.
In April 1999 the first passenger plane landed there - a plane operated by the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair.
This "historic date" heralded a new era of air travel for the whole of Germany: that of the low-cost airlines, according to the airport.
Most recently, 30 holiday destinations were flown to from Frankfurt-Hahn.
The airport had a 24-hour operating permit;
it was therefore also an important freight base.
In 2019, more than 170,000 tons of freight were handled there.
The airport was built on a former US military airfield.
It was previously controlled by the majority of Rhineland-Palatinate.
In 2017, the state transferred its 82.5 percent stake to the Chinese HNA Airport Group, the remaining 17.5 percent are still owned by the State of Hesse.