GERMANY. Frankfurt Airport posted a +5.2% year-on-year rise in passengers in January, to 3.87 million, parent company Fraport has reported. Aircraft movements rose by +6.0% to 37,399 takeoffs and landings.
Fraport AG Executive Board Chairman Dr Stefan Schulte said: “Clearly, Frankfurt Airport holds a commanding lead as Germany’s number one aviation gateway for passenger and cargo traffic. We are very pleased by the latest traffic growth, which builds upon Frankfurt’s absolute high level.
“Not only have we left the turbulent economic crisis behind us, we are now heading into a new dimension of growth. This traffic development will be strengthened by the new Runway Northwest that opens in October 2011. We are expecting noticeable growth in all traffic segments this year and at least in the medium term until 2015 – which will also result in the creation of more jobs at Frankfurt Airport.”
Fraport’s majority-owned foreign airports again contributed substantially to the group’s traffic growth in January 2011. Jorge Chávez International Airport Lima in the capital city of Peru has recorded double-digit growth every year since Fraport took over operations there 10 years ago. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary of operating Lima, Lima Airport Partners reported soaring growth of nearly +20% in January, with 987,247 passengers.
Lima Airport earned the coveted Skytrax Award as Best Airport in South America in 2010, adding to wins in 2009 and 2005. In 2009 Lima also received the Skytrax Best Airport Staff Service award.
At Antalya Airport in Turkey traffic grew slightly above the previous year’s level by +1.1% to 518,867 passengers. Burgas Airport (+65.1%) and Varna Airport (+17.1%) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast reported noticeable passenger growth rates because of the relatively small statistical base of these summer holiday destinations and the introduction of additional weekly connections.
Fraport’s five majority-owned airports served 5.4 million passengers in January 2011, up +7.3% year-on-year.
