Fraport Traffic Figures for April 2022: Slowdown in cargo traffic continues

May 12, 2022

Frankfurt Airport records strongest month since the pandemic began – Fraport’s Group airports worldwide report dynamic increase in demand – Greek airports almost reach pre-crisis levels – Fraport Traffic Figures for April 2022: Slowdown in cargo traffic continues

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed some 4.0 million passengers in April 2022, representing an increase of 303.8 percent compared to April 2021. As a result, Germany’s largest aviation hub recorded its strongest traffic month since the beginning of the pandemic – with April 2022 passenger numbers even exceeding the monthly levels achieved during last year’s summer season. Compared to pre-pandemic April 2019, passenger traffic was still down by 34.2 percent in the reporting month.

		January	February	Jan-Feb	March	Jan-March	Q 1	April	Jan-Apr
Cargo (ld. + unld. + transit) (t)	2022	174,753	164,769	339,522	181,214	520,736	520,736	169,316	690,052
	2021	176,266	180,725	356,991	208,506	565,497	565,497	201,661	767,158
	Change %	-0.9	-8.8	-4.9	-13.1	-7.9	-7.9	-16.0	-10.1

Cargo (ld. + unld.) (t)	2022	171,749	161,795	333,545	177,610	511,155	511,155	166,023	677,178
	2021	173,374	177,401	350,775	204,865	555,640	555,640	198,830	754,470
	Change %	-0.9	-8.8	-4.9	-13.3	-8.0	-8.0	-16.5	-10.2

- Air Freight (t)	2022	170,849	161,267	332,116	177,506	509,622	509,622	165,876	675,498
(ld. + unld. + transit) (t)	2021	171,952	177,225	349,177	204,376	553,553	553,553	197,763	751,316
	Change %	-0.6	-9.0	-4.9	-13.1	-7.9	-7.9	-16.1	-10.1

- Mail (t)	2022	3,904	3,502	7,406	3,708	11,114	11,114	3,441	14,554
(ld. + unld. + transit) (t)	2021	4,314	3,500	7,814	4,130	11,944	11,944	3,898	15,843
	Change %	-9.5	0.1	-5.2	-10.2	-7.0	-7.0	-11.7	-8.1

In contrast, cargo tonnage (airfreight + airmail) slipped by 16.0 percent year-on-year in April 2022. Cargo continued to be affected by airspace restrictions related to the war in Ukraine, as well as the extensive anti-Covid measures taken in China. FRA’s aircraft movements climbed by 108.8 percent year-on-year to 32,342 takeoffs and landings in the reporting month. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) gained 69.7 percent year-on-year to about 2.0 million metric tons.

Across the Group, the airports in Fraport’s international portfolio also benefitted in April 2022 from the ongoing rebound in passenger demand. All of the Fraport Group airports worldwide achieved traffic gains of more than 100 percent compared to April 2021.

Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia welcomed 69,699 passengers in April 2022. At the two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA), combined traffic grew to 886,505 passengers. Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM) recorded some 1.4 million passengers. Fraport’s 14 regional airports in Greece received a total of 1.4 million passengers in April 2022 – thus nearly reaching pre-crisis levels again (down only 2.4 percent compared to April 2019). On the Bulgarian Riviera, the Twin Star airports of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) also achieved a traffic increase, with a total of 95,951 passengers served in the reporting month. Traffic at Antalya Airport (AYT) on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast rose to about 1.5 million passengers.