With 5.3 million passengers served in May 2016, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) saw passenger figures decline by 5.5 percent compared to the strong equivalent month of the previous year. This slowdown primarily reflects an ongoing restraint in holiday travel, particularly to destinations in Turkey and along the Mediterranean coast of northern Africa. As Germany’s largest intercontinental hub, Frankfurt Airport has also been particularly affected by the noticeable drop in tourist traffic from the Far East – especially Japan – following the recent terrorist attacks in Europe. In addition, the numerous public holidays in Germany led to a thinning out of the May flight schedule at Frankfurt. Furthermore, the number of weather-related flight cancellations at FRA was relatively high for a May month – affecting about 15,000 passengers alone during May 2016.

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With 41,181 takeoffs and landings, FRA also registered a 3.5 percent dip in aircraft movements. Cargo (airfreight + airmail) throughput also softened slightly to 177,536 metric tons, down by 1.3 percent year-on-year. In line with the trend, accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) fell by 1.5 percent to 2.6 million metric tons.

Fraport AG’s international portfolio of airports continued to report mixed results in May 2016. Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia experienced a 9.3 percent slide in traffic to 116,499 passengers, resulting from consolidation of flight offerings. In Peru’s capital, Lima Airport (LIM) welcomed 1.6 million passengers – a significant 12.8 percent increase compared to the same month last year. Fraport’s two Bulgarian gateways at Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) saw their combined traffic jump by 36.5 percent to 229,375 passengers. Thus, the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast has proven its potential to become an alternative holiday destination for travelers from Europe and, above all, from Russia. These holidaymakers are currently avoiding countries on the eastern and southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea because of security concerns. This trend also affected traffic at Antalya Airport (AYT) on the Turkish Riviera, where figures slumped by 37.2 percent to 1.9 million passengers in May 2016. Along with travelers’ concerns about terrorism, AYT was impacted by the ongoing political situation between Turkey and Russia. Within Russia, political and economic factors also caused a decline in traffic, especially international air traffic. As a result, passenger numbers at Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg dropped by 7.3 percent to 1.1 million. In northern Germany, Hanover Airport (HAJ) recorded a moderate 3.1 percent decline to 496,343 passengers, resulting solely from lower tourist traffic. In contrast, Xi’an Airport (XIY) in central China continued to follow a growth path. XIY served some 3.0 million passengers, an increase of 9.7 percent year-on-year.

Fraport AG – which ranks among the world’s leading companies in the global airport business – offers a full range of integrated airport management services and boasts subsidiaries and investments on three continents. The Fraport Group generated sales of €2.6 billion and profit of about €297 million in 2015. In 2015, some 111 million passengers used airports around the world in which Fraport has more than a 50 percent stake. In its Mission Statement, Fraport places the focus on customers. The Group’s commitment to ensuring a “good trip” to all passengers and travelers is also reflected in the corporate slogan: “Gute Reise! We make it happen”. This commitment applies to all of Fraport’s business activities and services both at Germany’s largest aviation hub in Frankfurt and the Group’s airports worldwide.

At its Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home base, Fraport welcomed more than 61 million passengers and handled about 2.1 million metric tons of cargo (airfreight and airmail) in 2015. For the current summer timetable, FRA is served by 95 passenger airlines flying to 290 destinations in some 100 countries worldwide. Half of FRA’s destinations are intercontinental (beyond Europe) – underscoring Frankfurt’s role as a leading hub in the global air transportation system. In Europe, Frankfurt Airport ranks second in terms of cargo tonnage and is the fourth busiest for passenger traffic. With about 55 percent of all passengers using Frankfurt as a connecting hub, FRA also has the highest transfer rate among the major European hubs.

Frankfurt Airport City has become Germany’s largest job complex at a single location, employing more than 80,000 people at some 500 companies and organizations on site. Almost half of Germany’s population lives within a 200-kilometer radius of the FRA intermodal travel hub – the largest airport catchment area in Europe. FRA Airport City also serves as a magnet for other companies located throughout the economically vital Frankfurt/Rhine-Main-Neckar region. Thanks to synergies associated with the region’s dynamic industries, networked expertise, and outstanding intermodal transportation infrastructure, FRA’s world route network enables Hesse’s and Germany’s export-oriented businesses to flourish in global growth markets. Likewise, FRA is a strategic gateway for companies wanting to access the huge European marketplace. Thus, Frankfurt Airport – which is strategically located in the heart of Europe – is one of the most important hubs in the global logistics chain.