Fraport Traffic Figures - December & Full Year 2014: Frankfurt Airport Reports Rising Passenger and Cargo Volumes Despite Several Strikes

FRANKFURT, Germany, January 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

FRA/gk-rap -Frankfurt Airport (FRA) achieved a new record in 2014 as well. Some 59.57 million passengers passed through Germany's largest aviation hub in 2014, an increase of 2.6 percent year-on-year. Passenger growth at Fraport AG's home base FRA would have been even greater - with an underlying increase of around 3.9 percent to about 60.3 million passengers - when taking into account the high number of mainly strike-related flight cancellations and all other extraordinary cancellations, including due to adverse weather.

Cargo volumes (airfreight + airmail) at Frankfurt Airport also advanced in 2014, rising by 1.7 percent to about 2.2 million metric tons by year-end.  Aircraft movements edged down by 0.8 percent to about 469,000 takeoffs and landings, reflecting the ongoing trend towards larger aircraft and better capacity utilization along with higher passenger and cargo volumes.  Simultaneously, accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) increased by 1.9 percent to about 29 million metric tons.

In the reporting month of December 2014, FRA served around 4 million passengers. This represents a 2 percent decrease year-on-year, resulting from strike and weather-related flight cancellations. Aircraft movements also declined by 5.2 percent in December 2014 to 32,954 takeoffs and landings, while accumulated MTOWs contracted 1.1 percent to 2.1 million metric tons. Cargo volumes also slipped by 1.4 percent year-on-year, reaching a total of 176,241 metric tons.

Commenting on the overall positive results reached in 2014, Fraport's executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte said: "We are delighted that - despite the strikes - we were clearly able to maintain the expected growth range forecast for FRA in 2014.  On behalf of the entire executive board, I would like to extend special thanks to all of our Fraport employees.  Even on the busiest days in 2014 - when traffic frequently exceeded the 200,000 level - our employees showed excellent team performance and did their utmost to provide the best possible travel experience to our passengers."

Looking in the future, Schulte emphasized: "The growth trend experienced in 2014 confirms our forecasts for the coming years.  This further underscores why we need a third new passenger terminal here at Frankfurt Airport.  If the current trend continues, with growth rates ranging from two to three percent, in the coming years, the existing terminals will reach their capacity limits by 2021 at the latest.  We will need the new Terminal 3 to ensure that we can continue delivering excellent service quality to our passengers, also with modern and trendsetting ambiance in the future."

Across the Group, the airports in Fraport's international portfolio also recorded positive traffic growth in 2014.  Slovenia's capital city airport of Ljubljana (LJU) - which Fraport acquired in September 2014 - welcomed 1.3 million passengers and reported growth of 3.1 percent year-on-year.  With some 15.7 million passengers, Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru recorded a 5 percent jump in passenger traffic compared to 2013.  The Fraport Twinstar airports of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast saw traffic rise by 3.1 percent to 3.9 million passengers.   Antalya Airport (AYT) on the Turkish Riviera served some 28 million passengers in 2014 - a 4.7 percent increase compared to the previous year.  At St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport (LED) in Russia, passenger traffic surged by 11 percent to 14.3 million in 2014.  In northern Germany, Hanover Airport (HAJ) recorded 1.1 percent grow to almost 5.3 million passengers.  In China, Xi'an Airport (XIY) served some 29.2 million passengers in 2014, achieving double-digit growth of 12 percent versus the previous year.  Also in the month of December 2014, all of Fraport's international airports recorded traffic growth, thus contributing to the Group's overall positive result.

Schulte explained that the dynamic performance of Fraport's international portfolio shows the company is following the right path:  "Our strong portfolio, which has been performing well for many years now, will further benefit from the recent addition of Ljubljana Airport in Slovenia and U.S.-based Airmall."

   
    Fraport Traffic Figures
    December 2014

    Fraport Group Airports[1]
                                                             Cargo (Freight
    December 2014                Fraport    Passengers              & Mail)    Movements
                                 share in                             DELTA          DELTA
                                      %    Month    DELTA %   Month       %   Month      %
    Fully-consolidated airports
               Frankfurt,
    FRA        Germany           100.00  4,014,624    -2.0   173,351   -1.5   32,954  -5.2
               Ljubljana,
    LJU        Slovenia           97.99     80,432     3.8       854    1.1    2,181   1.9
    LIM        Lima, Peru[2]      70.01  1,321,056     5.8    30,748    2.5   13,265   3.7
    BOJ        Burgas, Bulgaria   60.00     11,501    28.8       259  -56.7      219  54.2
    VAR        Varna, Bulgaria    60.00     24,283    14.9         4 >100.0      310  -5.2

    At equity consolidated
    airports[2]
    AYT        Antalya, Turkey    51.00    669,343    11.3      n.a.   n.a.   5,510  10.6
               St. Petersburg,
    LED        Russia              5.50    932,134     8.5      n.a.   n.a.  11,250   3.1
    HAJ        Hanover, Germany   30.00    301,505     2.2     1,580   27.9   4,538  -2.6
    XIY        Xi'an, China       24.50  2,233,875    16.1    17,995   -5.7  18,638   7.2

    Fraport Group Airports[1]
                                                           Cargo (Freight
    Year to Date (YTD) 2014      Fraport       Passengers         & Mail)    Movements
                                 share in           DELTA           DELTA           DELTA
                                        %     YTD       %    YTD        %    YTD        %
    Fully-consolidated airports
            Frankfurt,
    FRA     Germany              100.00   59,566,132 2.6   2,132,132    1.8 469,026  -0.8
            Ljubljana,
    LJU     Slovenia              97.99    1,307,379   3.1     9,831    6.2  31,405  -5.2
    LIM     Lima, Peru[2]         70.01   15,659,066   5.0   302,406    2.0 155,093   1.3
    BOJ     Burgas, Bulgaria      60.00    2,530,368   2.0     5,354 >100.0  19,088   3.5
    VAR     Varna, Bulgaria       60.00    1,387,494   5.2        74 >100.0  12,063   4.7

    At equity consolidated
    airports[2]
    AYT     Antalya, Turkey       51.00   27,979,307   4.7      n.a.   n.a. 176,191   4.0
            St. Petersburg,
    LED     Russia                35.00   14,264,732  11.0      n.a.   n.a. 147,415   7.2
    HAJ     Hanover, Germany      30.00    5,291,981   1.1    15,184    3.5  76,031   0.0
    XIY     Xi'an, China          24.50   29,177,459  12.0   185,889    3.9 244,336   8.5

    Frankfurt Airport[3]
    December 2014                           Month  DELTA %     YTD 2014  DELTA %
    Passengers                          4,014,913       -2.0 59,571,802       2.6
    Cargo (freight & mail)                176,241       -1.4  2,164,659       1.7
    Aircraft movements                     32,954       -5.2    469,026      -0.8
    MTOW (in metric tons)[4]            2,136,807       -1.1 28,957,988       1.9
    PAX/PAX-flight[5]                       131.8        3.9      136.2       3.3
    Seat load factor (%)                     73.7                  77.4
    Punctuality rate (%)                     73.8                  81.1

                                        PAX share      Month  PAX share       YTD
    Frankfurt Airport Regional Split        month    DELTA %        YTD    DELTA%
    Germany                                 11.5%       -4.7      11.3%       2.1
    Europe (without Germany)                47.5%       -1.0      50.9%       5.2
    Western Europe                          39.3%       -1.1      42.4%       5.2
    Eastern Europe                           8.2%       -0.9       8.5%       5.5
    Intercontinental                        41.1%       -2.1      37.8%      -0.5
    Africa                                   4.5%       -3.2       4.1%      -4.6
    Middle East                              6.3%        2.1       5.3%       3.0
    North America                           13.4%       -6.5      13.5%       0.8
    Central & South America                  4.6%       -1.2       3.7%      -3.5
    Far East                                12.2%        1.0      11.2%      -0.7
    Australia                                0.0%     -100.0       0.0%    -100.0

    [1] According to ACI-definition:
    Passengers: commercial traffic only (arr+dep+transit counted once)
    Cargo: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep excluding transit,
    in metric tons)
    Movements: commerical and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep)
    [2] Preliminary figures
    [3] Passengers: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep+transit counted once incl.
    General Aviation)
    Cargo: commercial and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep+transit counted once, in metric
    tons)
    Movements: commerical and non-commercial traffic (arr+dep)
    [4] Inbound traffic only
    [5] Scheduled and charter traffic

Print-quality photos of Fraport AG and Frankfurt Airport are available for free downloading via the photo library located in our Press Center on the Fraport Web site. For TV news and information broadcasting purposes only, we also offer free footage material for downloading.

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 five continents. In 2013, the Fraport Group generated sales of €2.56 billion, EBITDA of €880.2 million and profit of about €236 million. In 2014, more than 108.5 million passengers used airports around the world in which Fraport has more than a 50 percent stake.

At its Frankfurt Airport (FRA) home base, Fraport welcomed about 60 million passengers and handled some 2.2 million metric tons of cargo (airfreight and airmail) in 2014. For the current winter timetable, FRA is served by 98 passenger airlines flying to some 250 destinations in 105 countries worldwide.  More than 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 first in terms of cargo tonnage and is the third-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 78,000 people at some 500 companies and organizations on site.  Major new real estate developments - such as The Squaire, the Gateway Gardens business park, and the Mönchhof Logistics Park- are creating an exciting new dimension and range of services at the evolving Frankfurt Airport City of the 21^st century.

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.  

Frankfurt Airport meets the increasing needs of the export-oriented economies of the State of Hesse as well as Germany as a whole, for optimal connections to growth markets around the globe. 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.    

Fraport AG
Robert A. Payne    
International Spokesman    
Press Office, Corp.Communications    
60547 Frankfurt, Germany    
Telephone:  +49-69-690-78547
E-mail:  [email protected]
Internet:  http://www.fraport.com
Facebook:  http://www.faceebook.com/FrankfurtAirport

SOURCE Fraport AG