Cargo business at the airport is also benefiting from the increase in air traffic in Munich: Now totaling around 147,000 tonnes, the volume has risen by eleven percent compared to the same period last year.
The first half of 2024 has seen Munich Airport experiencing robust demand for air travel, with over 19 million passengers recorded from January 1 to June 30, marking a 14.8 percent increase from the previous year. This surge brought the airport to nearly 85 percent of its record passenger volume from 2019. Additionally, the airport achieved a historic high in aircraft load factor at 80 percent.
Particularly notable was the growth in intercontinental air traffic, which saw nearly a 19 percent increase in passengers. The demand for flights to both the USA and the Far East has rebounded to the levels observed in early 2019, with close to 1.2 million passengers traveling to these regions in the first six months.
The increase in traffic also boosted the number of aircraft movements, with over 156,000 take-offs and landings—a more than ten percent year-on-year increase and a 76 percent rise compared to 2019. Munich now serves approximately 160 global destinations, including 47 intercontinental ones.
This positive momentum is expected to continue throughout the year, with additional long-haul destinations already on the horizon. Airlines at Munich are increasingly deploying the state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900, with 140 weekly departures planned for the summer and an increase to 170 by fall. The cargo sector at Munich Airport is also flourishing, with an 11 percent year-on-year increase in volume, now totaling approximately 147,000 tonnes.
