Frankfurt Airport sees lower passenger numbers

Frankfurt Airport, the third-busiest in Europe, reported a decline in passenger traffic for the month of September, as the global financial crisis further affected air travel.

The number of passengers using the German airport last month fell by 3.9 per cent from the same month one year ago, down to 4.83 million passengers, according to the airport owner, Fraport AG.

Fraport forecasted Frankfurt’s passenger traffic for 2008 to be unchanged from the previous year, or to rise by one per cent only, due to worsening financial conditions around the world.

Lufthansa, Europe’s second-largest carrier and Frankfurt Airport’s major customer, said that its passenger load fell in September by the largest margin since April of 2003. British Airways, SAS and the seven largest airlines in the US all reported declines in passenger traffic for September, as the crisis in the banking sector shook consumer confidence and resulted in a cutback in travel.

Fraport shares have fallen by 40 per cent this year so far, closed on Monday at 32.45 euros, valuing the operator at 2.97 billion euros.

Take-offs and landings at the airport declined by 0.9 per cent from the year before, to 42,119, and maximum take-off weights rose by 1.2 percent to 2.47 million metric tons.

Passenger numbers for all of Fraport’s six airports combined fell by 2.1 per cent to 7.53 million for September, with declines reported at Frankfurt, in Germany, and Burgas and Varna, in Bulgaria.

www.airportcity-frankfurt.com