Passenger Levels Still Low at Frankfurt Airport

In September 2020, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) served some 1.1 million passengers – an 82.9 percent decline compared to the same month last year. Cumulative traffic at FRA during the January-to-September 2020 period fell by 70.2 percent. The low passenger demand resulted from persisting travel restrictions and the uncertainties for travel planning in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.  

Aircraft movements at Frankfurt Airport decreased by 63.7 percent year-on-year to 16,940 takeoffs and landings in September 2020. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) contracted by 61.7 percent to about 1.1 million metric tons. Cargo throughput, comprising airfreight and airmail, dipped by only 5.0 percent year-on-year to 165,967 metric tons – despite the lack of capacity for belly freight (transported on passenger aircraft). 

Fraport’s Group airports worldwide also continued to be affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, albeit to varying extent. While some airports in Fraport’s international portfolio benefited from a slight rebound in holiday traffic, others were still subject to comprehensive travel restrictions during the reporting month.

Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia welcomed 21,686 passengers in September 2020, down 87.4 percent year-on-year. In Brazil, the airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) registered a combined traffic drop of 68.0 percent to 402,427 passengers. At Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM), traffic plunged by 92.1 percent to 158,786 passengers because of widespread restrictions on international air traffic.

Fraport’s 14 Greek regional airports served some 1.7 million passengers in September 2020, representing a 61.3 percent decline compared to the same month last year. The Bulgarian Twin Star airports of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) saw combined traffic slide by 75.6 percent to 171,690 passengers.

Antalya Airport (AYT) in Turkey received about 2.3 million passengers – a decrease of 53.4 percent. Traffic at Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg, Russia, shrank by 29.1 percent to around 1.4 million passengers. With some 3.6 million passengers registered in September 2020, China’s Xi’an Airport (XIY) maintained its recovery path – and further reduced the rate of decline to  just 9.5 percent year-on-year.