- Frankfurt Airport passenger numbers remain weaker than at Fraport’s international airports
- Group-wide traffic has exceeded 2019 levels thanks to overseas sites
- Frankfurt reached only 87pc of its pre-pandemic level
- Fraport is maintaining its full-year targets
- The company is calling for more competitive costs and extra flight capacity
Frankfurt Airport has continued to lag behind Fraport’s international portfolio in passenger traffic. The nine-month balance sheet shows that the international portfolio is growing in transport and becoming more important for the result, while the home location is stagnating. Group-wide passenger traffic exceeded 2019 levels for the first time after nine months, with the approximately 30 international airports reaching about 109pc of pre-pandemic levels and the group reaching about 101pc.
Frankfurt itself stagnated compared to the previous year and reached only 87pc of its former level. The causes lie largely outside the operator’s influence, including geopolitical uncertainty, expensive aviation fuel and weak economic conditions. Strikes in spring cost Fraport 700,000 passengers, alongside the Middle East crisis and Lufthansa consolidation including the closure of CityLine.
Fraport chief executive Stefan Schulte cited state location costs as particularly critical. Regulatory burdens for an intercontinental flight from Frankfurt amount to about €17,000, compared to €1,000 from Madrid and €4,000 from Brussels. The third terminal has relieved processes in the north and improved aircraft distribution on the apron. Fraport is testing the Gate of the Future concept with Lufthansa. The company aims to reduce debt of about €8.2bn through lower investments, with more than €210m in savings planned for 2026.
Stefan Schulte shared “The causes lie largely outside the influence of the operator: geopolitical uncertainty, expensive kerosene and weak economic conditions.”
