Passenger figures continue to rise in June – European traffic driving growth
Frankfurt Airport (FRA) continues to be on growth path. FRA welcomed about 6.4 million passengers in June 2018, representing a 9.8 percent increase compared to the same month last year. Aircraft movements climbed by 8.9 percent to 45, 218 takeoffs and landings, while accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) rose by 5.5 percent to some 2.8 million metric tons. Only cargo traffic (airfreight and airmail) declined slightly by 2.8 percent to 182,911 metric tons in the reporting month of June 2018.
In the first half of the year, Frankfurt Airport recorded a 9.1 percent jump in traffic to 32.7 million passengers. This can be attributed to the increased number airline flight offerings, particularly on European routes. Aircraft movements rose by 8.6 percent to 247,061 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated MTOWs grew by 5.9 percent to about 15.3 million metric tons. FRA’s cargo throughput reached about 1.1 million metric tons, thus remaining at the previous year’s level (up 0.1 percent).
The Fraport Group’s global portfolio of airports also achieved growth in the first half of 2018. Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport (LJU) saw traffic advance by 15.0 percent to 831,195 passengers (June 2018: up 13.3 percent to 176,784 passengers). The Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) together posted growth of 4.5 percent to about 6.9 million passengers (June 2018: up 6.5 percent to about 1.1 million passengers). Combined traffic figures for the 14 Greek airports grew by 11.0 percent to about 10.6 million passengers (June 2018: up 10.9 percent to about 4.4 million passengers). The three busiest Greek airports in the first half included Thessaloniki (SKG) with about 2.8 million passengers (up 3.3 percent), Rhodes (RHO) with 1.9 million passengers (up 10.3 percent), as well as Chania (CHQ) on the island of Crete with about 1.2 million travelers (down 0.3 percent).
In South America, Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM) received about 10.6 million passengers and registered 9.8 percent growth (June 2018: up 7.5 percent to about 1.8 million passengers). On the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) airports together recorded 27.6 percent growth and almost 1.7 million passengers (June 2018: up 14.9 percent to 979,593 passengers). On the Turkish riviera, Antalya Airport (AYT) closed the first half of 2018 with almost 12.3 million passengers and a 29.1 surge in traffic (June 2018: up 29.2 percent to about 4.3 million passengers). In northern Germany, Hanover Airport (HAJ) grew by 7.8 percent to almost 2.8 million passengers (June 2018: up 10.2 percent to 632,621 passengers). Russia’s St. Petersburg Airport (LED) advanced by 11.3 percent to nearly 8.0 million passengers (June 2018: up 12.7 percent to about 1.9 million passengers). In China, Xi’an Airport (XIY) reported nearly 21.6 million passengers and growth of 7.6 percent (June 2018: up 8.6 percent to about 3.7 million passengers).
