Fraport Traffic Figures: 1st Quarter & March 2013

FRANKFURT, Germany, April 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Quarterly Figures Affected by Weather and Strike-Related Flight Cancellations - Cargo Segment Emerges from Cyclical Trough

During the January-to-March 2013 period, Fraport's five majority-owned airports welcomed a total of 17.8 million passengers (up  1.6 percent) and handled  555,737 metric tons of cargo, an increase of 1.7 percent. Aircraft movements decreased in the first quarter by 2.2 percent to 162,058 takeoffs and landings. Serving about 3.6 million passengers Peru's Lima Airport continued to grow briskly with a gain of 12.9 percent year-on-year. Turkey's Antalya Airport registered a noticeable 2.2 million passengers (up 4.9 percent). The Bulgarian airports of Burgas and Varna together greeted nearly 88,500 passengers.

At Fraport's Frankfurt Airport home base, traffic results were negatively impacted by the capacity consolidation of some airlines and, in particular, by weather and strike-related cancellations during the first three months of the year. In the first quarter of 2013, about 11.9 million passengers used Frankfurt Airport - two percent fewer passengers than in the same period last year. About half of this decline can be attributed to strikes and adverse weather conditions. The domestic segment, down six percent, accounted for the majority of this drop.  In contrast, intercontinental traffic continued to expand by one percent, despite the difficult business environment.

Cargo traffic figures show that Frankfurt Airport has emerged from the cyclical trough.  For the first time since 2011, Germany's largest aviation hub reported a cargo gain of 1.1 percent and quarterly growth - with some 502,051 metric tons handled from January to March 2013.

In the current reporting month of March 2013, a total of 6.7 million passengers used the Fraport Group's five majority-owned airports of Frankfurt (FRA), Antalya (AYT), Burgas (BOJ), Varna (VAR) and Lima (LIM). This represents a 3.2 percent jump compared to the same month of last year.

Like with the first quarter results, Frankfurt's March 2013 traffic figures experienced a slight decline characterized by special effects and the base-year effect. Approximately 4.5 million passengers used FRA during the reporting month, representing a 1.1 percent drop year-on-year. However, without the flight disruptions registered in March 2013 FRA would have concluded the winter season with growth in passenger figures.

FRA's 7.9 percent decline in aircraft movements to 37,228 takeoffs and landings is primarily due to the approximately 1,400 weather and strike-related flight cancellations in the reporting month. The thinning out of high-traffic continental routes was further compounded by the early occurrence of Easter holidays and start of the spring school vacation in March 2013.

FRA's cargo volume grew by 4.4 percent to 195,590 metric tons in March 2013 due to many airlines expanding their cargo business - new freight connections and increased flight frequencies - and using larger aircraft.  In addition to a slight improvement in the global economy - especially in Asia, North America and the BRICS countries - Germany benefits from an overall robust export industry supported by FRA for the continuous flow of airfreight-dependent goods.

For Further Information, Please Contact:

Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide

Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. - International Spokesman and Head of International Press/PR & External Activities Team, Press Office (UKM-PS), Corporate Communications, 60547 Frankfurt, Germany; Tel.: +49-69-690-78547; E-mail: [email protected]; Internet: http://www.fraport.com;  http://www.airportcarbonaccreditation.org

    Fraport Traffic Figures
    March 2013

    Traffic Figures - Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
    Total Traffic                    Month      yoy DELTA%          YTD        yoy DELTA%
    Passengers [1]               4,454,263     -1.1              11,937,095        -2.0
    Cargo (freight+mail in
    t)[2]                          195,590      4.4                 502,051         1.1
    Aircraft Movements              37,228     -7.9                 105,977        -5.8
    MTOWs (in metric tons)       2,284,743     -4.7               6,365,426        -5.3
    Punctuality (in
    percent)                          79.3                             79.1

    Traffic Figures - Fraport Group
    Based on ACI
    definition (Airports                       Cargo (freight+mail)
    Council Intl.)      Passengers [3]              in t [4]                Movements
                         Month  yoy DELTA%   Month  yoy DELTA%       Month  yoy DELTA%
    Frankfurt (FRA)  4,453,731     -1.1     192,340         4.6      37,228        -7.9
    Antalya (AYT)    1,031,715     12.5        n.a.        n.a.       7,697        10.7
    Burgas (BOJ)        13,480    -25.1          76       -38.8         183       -48.0
    Lima (LIM)[6]    1,208,861     13.1      19,839        -2.7      12,618         4.9
    Varna (VAR)         20,516     38.0           1       -37.2         274        -3.5
    Group            6,728,303      3.2     212,256         3.8      58,000        -3.4

                                              Cargo (freight+mail)
    Jan.-Mar. 2013       Passengers [3]                 in t [4]                Movements
                             YTD   yoy DELTA%    YTD  yoy DELTA%       YTD  yoy DELTA%
    Frankfurt (FRA)  11,935,761     -2.0     493,040         0.9     105,977        -5.8
    Antalya (AYT)     2,224,559      4.9        n.a.        n.a.      17,443         3.7
    Burgas (BOJ)[5]      34,393    -40.4         993      >100.0         598       -50.0
    Lima (LIM)[6]     3,560,092     12.9      61,700         7.1      37,202         6.5
    Varna (VAR)[5]       54,072   >100.0           4      >100.0         838      >100.0
    Group            17,808,877      1.6     555,737         1.7     162,058        -2.2

    [1] Commerical and non-commercial traffic
    [2] Cargo including transit (in metric tons)
    [3] Passengers - commercial traffic only
    [4] Cargo excluding transit (in metric tons)
    [5] Varna was closed from 15.10.2011 to 28.02.12. Burgas handled all VAR flights
        during this period.
    [6] Figures provided by LIM

SOURCE Fraport AG