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Fraport Traffic Figures – January 2019: Starting the New Year on a Growth Path

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FraportFraport

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed nearly 4.7 million passengers in

January 2019, thus starting the year with 2.3 percent traffic growth.


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Without strike and weather-related flight cancellations, passenger

traffic at FRA would have grown by about 4.3 percent.

Aircraft movements climbed by 2.3 percent to 37,676 takeoffs and

landings in the reporting month.  Maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs)

rose by 1.5 percent to about 2.4 million metric tons.  Only cargo

(airfreight + airmail) posted a decline in January 2019, dropping by

4.3 percent to 163,332 metric tons.  Decisive factors affecting cargo

traffic included weaker global trade and the resulting dip in demand.

Most of the airports in Fraport’s international portfolio also

achieved growth in January 2019.  Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport (LJU)

served 103,653 passengers, a rise of 3.3 percent.  The Brazilian

airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) registered

combined traffic of almost 1.5 million passengers, up 10.5 percent

year-on-year.

Total traffic for the 14 Greek regional airports reached 617,885

passengers, resulting in a 12.3 percent surge.  The busiest airports

included Thessaloniki (SKG) with 388,309 passengers, up 25.4 percent;

Chania (CHQ) with 50,949 passengers, up 17.8 percent; and Rhodes

(RHO) with 50,809 passengers, down 13.4 percent.

Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru, South America, saw traffic increase by

5.0 percent to around 1.9 million passengers.  On the Bulgarian Black

Sea coast, the Twin Star airports of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR)

registered a total of 67,924 passengers, declining 6.8 percent.  On

the Turkish Rivera, Antalya Airport (AYT) received 877,161 passengers

and recorded a 9.6 percent jump in traffic.  Russia’s St. Petersburg

Airport (LED) advanced by 14.0 percent to some 1.2 million

passengers.  In China, Xi’an Airport (XIY) recorded a 13.9 percent

gain to almost 3.8 million passengers

Mobility of the Future: Fraport and Volocopter

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Fraport AG and Volocopter GmbH are pioneering mobility ofthe future. Together, they are developing concepts for ground infrastructure and operations required for air taxi services at airports. This cooperation focuses on smooth passenger handling and efficient integration into the existing transport infrastructure. This will be examined using a so-called Volocopter Port. In the future, Volocopter Ports could link existing urban transportation junctions with one another and provide connections to and from Frankfurt Airport (FRA).

Fraport is a globally active airport manager with many years of expertise in airport operations – particularly in ground infrastructure, ground handling, and terminal and passenger services. Fraport can also leverage its extensive experience in unmanned flying. Via its FraDrones program, Fraport has already tested various scenarios for using drones for operational purposes. Volocopter has already proven that its electrically-powered vertical take-off multicopters meet the requirements of Urban Aerial Mobility in various test flights, most notably in Dubai. Based on drone technology, the Volocopter offers space for two people and is a suitable urban transport solution thanks to its quiet and zero-emissions flying. Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s most important aviation hub with more than 69.5 million passengers last year, offers the ideal conditions for this innovative partnership.

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Anke Giesen, Fraport AG’s executive board member for operations (COO), explained: “Autonomous flying will fundamentally change aviation in the years to come. We want to be the first airport in Europe to harness the potential of electric air taxis in partnership with pioneer Volocopter – for the benefit of our passengers and the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. This partnership underscores Fraport AG’s role as a key driver of innovation in diverse fields.”

Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter GmbH, said: “Providing the ideal connection between the city center and the airport poses a huge challenge for the world’s major cities. Together with Fraport AG, we are excited to pioneer the implementation of an air taxi service at one of Europe’s most important airports. We will be tapping into Fraport’s wealth of experience to integrate the Volocopter Service safely and efficiently into the complex array of processes required at a major international airport.”

Frankfurt Airport opens new Muslim prayer room in Terminal 2

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Frankfurt Airport opens new Muslim prayer room in Terminal 2

Passengers, employees and visitors of the Muslim faith now have another place to pray and worship at Frankfurt Airport. Today (February 1), a new Muslim prayer room has opened in the public area of Terminal 2.

The multi-functional space has a foyer with a storage facility for shoes and coats. The prayer room itself is at the rear and constitutes a quiet area for Muslim prayer. A curtain divides the space in two so that men and women can pray separately. In the entrance area, separate washrooms for men and women are available for ritual washing.

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Located in the public area of Terminal 2’s Concourse E (Level 2), the new Muslim prayer room is open daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday prayers are held here every Friday at the time stated in the Muslim prayer calendar.

Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport (FRA), has created several places of worship and retreat for Christians, Jews and Muslims across FRA’s two terminals. A total of ten chapels and prayer rooms provide space for religious diversity, dialog and peaceful coexistence among the world’s religions at the FRA global aviation hub.

WTTC Brexit Warning: 700.000 travel tourism jobs at risk in Europe

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Gloria Guevara, President and CEO, WTTC

Over 300,000 jobs could be at risk in the Travel & Tourism sector in the United Kingdom and almost 400,000 in Europe if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March, according to a new analysis from the World Travel & Tourism Council released today.

A “No Deal” Brexit would have a damaging impact on one of the UK’s most important economic sectors.

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According to WTTC, which represents the private sector of Travel & Tourism globally, the industry contributes more than €1.5 trillion to the EU’s GDP (10.3% of total) and supports 27.3 million jobs (11.7% of total). In the UK, the sector contributes £213.8 billion to GDP (10.5% of total) and supports four million jobs (11.6% of total).

The WTTC analysis models the impact on the Travel & Tourism sector over the next decade, based on the 7.7% forecasted fall in economic activity across the wider UK economy modelled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In this situation, a No Deal Brexit would result in:

  • A loss of 308,000 jobs in the UK economy
  • A loss of 399,000 jobs in the rest of the EU
  • A loss of £18.6 billion in GDP to the UK economy
  • A loss of £22.0 billion in GDP to the economies of the rest of the EU

To minimize the impact, it is crucial that:

1. The UK should continue to have access to the Single Aviation Market

2. Visa-free travel between the UK and EU should be maintained and the movement of people should be as seamless as possible while maintaining security

3. The mobility of labor for Travel & Tourism employees across the UK and EU should continue

4. Security co-operation to avoid hard border checks and lengthy delays are paramount

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC said, “The UK is the fifth largest Travel & Tourism economy in the world. Given its importance to the UK economy, it is now clear that a No Deal Brexit would have a dramatic impact on one of the UK’s most significant sectors.”

“If the IMF prediction on the wider economy is realised, there would be a total cost across Europe of over £40 billion and over 700,000 jobs compared to our projections. Our Members are already seeing an impact on their businesses and workforce.”

Fraport launches operations at Nashville International Airport in the USA

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Fraport launches operations at Nashville International Airport in the USA

Beginning February 1, Fraport is taking over the overall management of concession areas for shops, restaurants and other services at Nashville International Airport (BNA). With almost 16 million passengers in 2018 (up 13.2 percent year-on-year), BNA set an all-time record for the sixth consecutive year and maintained its position as one of strongest performing aviation gateways in North America.

Fraport USA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fraport AG, won the bid last year in a highly competitive tender process. Since the signing of the 10-year contract last summer, Fraport USA has been preparing for the February 2019 startup. The agreement with the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority (MNAA) covers the design, construction, lease and management of concessions space throughout the airport’s four concourses in the passenger terminal. A major airport expansion to be completed by 2023 will result in some 12,300 square meters (more than 133,000 square feet) of concession space for over 90 shops, restaurants and service outlets – plus common-use areas for seating and entertainment. Fraport is expected to invest some 17 million dollars in the BNA concessions development during the next decade, with further investments to be made by the individual subtenants.

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Dr. Stefan Schulte, Fraport AG’s executive board chairman, commented on the Group’s launch of the company’s fifth location in the U.S. market: “We are pleased to expand Fraport USA’s concessions development and management program to Nashville Airport. Nashville is the second new concessions development to be launched by Fraport USA in less than a year.”

Famous as the Music Capital of America, Nashville’s metropolitan region of about 1.8 million people has become a major tourist destination and one of the country’s fastest growing business hubs. Dr. Schulte added: “Our Nashville team is highly committed to developing an innovative retail concept that exemplifies the spirit of Nashville, with its rich cultural heritage and thriving music industry. We will focus on giving passengers a memorable experience with an exciting mix of the best local restaurants and brands, as well as international outlets. We look forward to many years of close partnership here where the music plays!”

Fraport USA is renowned for setting the standard in managing, designing and developing airport retail concessions in North America. Along with Nashville, Fraport USA is the developer and manager of the retail, food and beverage concession areas at a total of five airports in the United States: Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), Cleveland International Airport (CLE), Nashville International Airport (BNA), New York Kennedy Airport (JFK – JetBlue’s Terminal 5), and Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT).