Fraport Traffic Figures: Cargo only down 7 percent year-to-year

Traffic still down in Frankfurt and at the Group’s airports worldwide – Slight rebound continued, spurred by holiday travel – Government’s quarantine policy not beneficial 

In August 2020, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) served some 1.5 million passengers, representing a 78.2 percent decline year-on-year. Thus, for the first time since March of this year, the decrease remained below the 80 percent mark. During the January-to-August 2020 period, accumulated passenger traffic at FRA dropped by 68.4 percent. Ongoing travel restrictions and lower passenger demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic were still driving this trend. Compared to July 2020 – when passenger numbers fell by 80.9 percent year-on-year – FRA continued to see a slight rebound in demand during August, primarily driven by holiday traffic. However, quarantine regulations introduced by the German government for all travelers returning from high-risk areas curbed this positive trend in the first September week (with traffic down 80.7 percent). 

Aircraft movements at Frankfurt Airport declined by 61.9 percent year-on-year to 17,695 takeoffs and landings in August 2020. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) contracted by 60.5 percent to about 1.1 million metric tons. Cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) dipped by only 7.0 percent to 160,937 metric tons year-on-year – despite the ongoing lack of capacity for “belly freight” transported on passenger flights.

Fraport’s Group airports worldwide recorded a slight positive trend in August 2020, boosted by holiday air traffic. Nevertheless, the company’s international airport portfolio also continued to be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport (LJU) welcomed 28,024 passengers in the reporting month, down 86.7 percent year-on-year. In Brazil, the airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) registered a combined traffic drop of 77.1 percent to 300,240 passengers. At Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM), traffic fell by 95.4 percent to 101,866 passengers, as a result of widespread travel restrictions.

Fraport’s 14 Greek regional airports served some 2.4 million passengers in August 2020, representing a 55.5 percent decrease compared to the same month last year. The Bulgarian Twin Star airports of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) saw combined traffic plunge by 77.1 percent to 287,769 passengers. Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey received about 1.7 million passengers – a decline of 68.8 percent. Traffic at Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg, Russia, shrank by 31.4 percent to around 1.5 million passengers. Figures continued to recover noticeably at Xi’an Airport (XIY) in China, with about 3.6 million passengers served in August 2020 (down 18.7 percent year-on-year).