Fraport Traffic Figures – August 2008
FRANKFURT, Germany, September 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed 4,916,620 passengers in August 2008, a 3.9 percent drop year-on-year. Airfreight throughput reached 164,791 metric tons (down 5.2 percent) and airmail 6,928 metric tons (down 9.1 percent). Aircraft movements dropped by 3.1 percent to 41,743 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) at FRA slipped by 1.5 percent to 2,452,026 metric tons.
The slowdown in passenger demand at FRA was triggered by strikes within the Lufthansa Group, which spurred many customers of short-haul and feeder routes to switch to Deutsche Bahn’s rail services. Other contributing factors include the consolidation of airlines to optimize margins mainly due to the high cost of kerosene, weaker traffic demand during China’s visa restrictions for the Olympic Games in an otherwise strong Far East market, and the cyclical decline in vacation travel. The outlook for the remainder of the year continues to be optimistic because of the booking situation for the autumn vacation period. However, the regressive business trend and the additional streamlining of airline flight offers could impact passenger demand in the coming months.
Consolidation of airline flight services also affected the cargo business in August. In addition, there were capacity utilization problems resulting from the economic situation – which particularly affected eastern routes. In view of the market outlook for the rest of the year, airfreight throughput is currently not expected to recover rapidly. This also applies for aircraft movements, because the airlines have become more cautious in their flight schedule planning.
Despite the slowdown in German and European traffic, Fraport is nevertheless optimistic about passenger figures for the company’s most interesting market segment – intercontinental traffic – which rose by more than two percent. Intercontinental passengers have an extremely positive impact on the value creation of Fraport AG because of their higher propensity to spend than other travelers. A 2.3 percent jump in the intercontinental sector – which accounts for 40 percent of FRA’s traffic – has been achieved since the beginning of this year, despite the temporary weak capacity utilization on Far East routes.
Positive traffic development was recorded among the Fraport Group’s airports. The strongest growth rates came from Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM) with 777,909 passengers (up 8.5 percent) and Turkey’s Antalya Airport (AYT) with 1,372,855 passengers (up 8.3 percent) in August 2008. Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN) served 422,377 passengers, a two percent jump in traffic. In Bulgaria, Burgas Airport (BOJ) registered a 0.5 percent increase to 541,779 passengers, while Varna Airport (VAR), with 351,866 passengers, experienced a three percent drop in traffic.
Fraport’s six majority-owned airports served a total of 8,382,987 passengers in August 2008 (down 0.4 percent). Cargo throughput (airfreight and airmail) at the Group’s airports declined by 3.6 percent to 201,230 metric tons. With 70,372 takeoffs and landings, Group-wide aircraft movements remained practically unchanged.
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Frankfurt Airport’s Traffic Figures – August 2008 August Change (2) Change (2) 2008 Aug. 08/ Jan.-Aug. Jan.-Aug. Aug. 07 2008 08/07 Passengers (1) 4,916,620 -3.9 % 36,249,063 0.7 % Airfreight (1) 164,791 -5.2 % 1,385,001 2.1 % in metric tons Airmail 6,928 -9.1 % 58,749 -2.6 % in metric tons Aircraft 41,743 -3.1 % 326,117 -0.7 % Movements (3) MTOWs 2,452,026 -1.5 % 19,011,159 1.3 % in metric tons Punctuality 80.4 74.5 share of punctual arrivals and departures in percent (1) Total traffic (arrivals + departures + transit) (2) Change over previous year (3) Excluding military flights Fraport Group – Traffic Figures for August 2008 Cargo in metric Aircraft Passengers(1) Change tons (incl. Change Movements Change Airports absolute in % airmail) in % absolute in % Frankfurt 4,916,201 -3.9 170,007 -5.3 41,743 -3.1 (FRA) Antalya 1,372,855 8.3 n.a. n.a. 9,123 16.6 (AYT)(2) Burgas (BOJ) 541,779 0.5 7 -96.9 3,978 5.3 Frankfurt-Hahn 422,377 2.0 9,773 11.9 3,995 11.0 (HHN) Lima (LIM)3 777,909 8.5 21,443 5.6 8,782 -3.7 Varna (VAR) 351,866 -3.1 n.a. n.a. 2,751 -0.7 Fraport Group(4) 8,382,987 -0.4 201,230 -3.6 70,372 0.3 (1) Passengers (commercial traffic: arrivals + departures + transit) (2) Terminal 1 + domestic terminal (adjusted for base value 2007) (3) Figures provided by LIM (4) Base value 2007 = Group Airports (majority owned) as of 2007, plus AYT domestic terminal For Further information, Please Contact: Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. – Manager International Press Press Office (Dept. UKM-PS), Corporate Communications (UKM) 60547 Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany Tel.: +49-69-690-78547; Fax: +49-69-690-60548; E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de; Internet: http://www.fraport.com/
Fraport AG
CONTACT: For Further information, Please Contact: Fraport AG FrankfurtAirport Services Worldwide Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. – Manager InternationalPress Press Office (Dept. UKM-PS), Corporate Communications (UKM) 60547Frankfurt am Main, Federal Republic of Germany Tel.: +49-69-690-78547; Fax:+49-69-690-60548; E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de; Internet:http://www.fraport.com/