Demand for holiday flights remains high – Frankfurt Airport records strongest month since the pandemic began – Fraport Group airports worldwide sustain dynamic growth
Frankfurt Airport (FRA) served some 4.6 million passengers in May 2022 – representing a surge of 267.4 per cent versus May 2021. The ongoing rise in demand for holiday flights is driving this upward trend. As a result, Germany’s largest aviation hub maintained its rapid growth momentum in May 2022, while also recording its strongest traffic month since the pandemic began. Compared to the same month in pre-pandemic 2019, FRA’s passenger traffic still declined by 26.4 per cent in May 2022.
As in the previous months, cargo traffic (comprising airfreight and airmail) also slowed in May 2022, with tonnage dropping by 15.0 per cent year-on-year. This was largely due to airspace restrictions related to the war in Ukraine and the extensive anti-Covid measures in China. FRA’s aircraft movements climbed by 115.4 per cent year-on-year to 36,565 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOW) rose by 71.9 per cent year-on-year to some 2.2 million metric tons in the reporting month.
Fraport’s Group airports worldwide also benefitted from the rebound in passenger traffic in May 2022. The airports in Fraport’s international portfolio all achieved traffic gains of more than 90 per cent year-on-year.
Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport (LJU) welcomed 84,886 passengers in May 2022. Combined traffic at the two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) increased to 936,571 passengers. Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru recorded some 1.5 million passengers. At Fraport’s 14 Greek regional airports, traffic further advanced to a total of just under 3 million passengers in May 2022 – nearly reaching pre-crisis levels (down only 4.4 per cent versus May 2019). In Bulgaria, the Fraport Twin Star airports serving the seaside resorts of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) saw overall traffic rise to 171,897 passengers. At Antalya Airport (AYT) on the Turkish Riviera, passenger numbers grew to over 2.6 million travellers in May 2022.
