Fraport Group establishes Fraport Aviation Academy at Ljubljana Airport

Fraport AG, via its wholly-owned Aerodrom Ljubljana subsidiary, will establish the Fraport Aviation Academy at Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport (LJU) by the end of 2016. Aerodrom Ljubljana has received the corporate mandate for operating the new Academy to meet the increasing training and education requirements within the Fraport Group, as well as from external customers. As one of the world’s leading airport management groups, Fraport depends on highly skilled staff at its airports around the globe for maintaining high operating standards, delivering top customer-focused services, and for addressing the rapid changes that character today’s aviation industry.

Thomas Uihlein, Aerdrom Ljubljana’s chief administrative officer and head of the Fraport Aviation Academy, explained the strategic importance of this training initiative: “Creation of the Fraport Aviation Academy as a new “center of excellence and learning” underscores Fraport’s commitment to enhancing Ljubljana as a sustainable location. Diversifying non-aeronautical businesses is a key element of Fraport’s strategy for its airport portfolio. We wish to harness the inherent synergies available at Ljubljana Airport, which has developed its own significant know-how as a full-service airport company in operations, handling, and emergency services. Furthermore, the Ljubljana region is the perfect location where we can develop innovative world-class solutions in aviation training.”

Initially, the Fraport Aviation Academy will offer training in airport management, ramp handling, passenger handling, dangerous goods, occupational safety, and fire services –training areas where Aerodrom Ljubljana has already been active for some years. Later, the Fraport Aviation Academy will also get a brand new training center. Costing about €3.9 million, this training center will be built on a site near Ljubljana’s General Aviation Terminal. Construction is scheduled to start in early 2017 and the inaugurated is expected in early 2018. This new center will make it possible to expand the number and range of training services offered in the coming years.

Training will be done by Aerodrom Ljubliana experts as well as staff from the entire Fraport Group. Later, the Fraport Aviation Academy could collaborate with chosen partners to deliver training modules in specialized areas. “A long-term objective of the Fraport Aviation Academy is not only to pass on knowledge but also to link the different areas of aviation into an integrated learning concept,” added Uihlein. The Fraport Aviation Academy will serve as a training center for the entire Group and will complement existing training facilities at Frankfurt Airport.

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 dedication applies to all of Fraport’s business activities in Frankfurt as well as 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 59 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. Frankfurt Airport – which is strategically located in the heart of Europe – is one of the most important hubs in the global logistics chain.