Fraport Traffic Figures - April 2011: Visible Growth in April

FRANKFURT, Germany, May 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The impact of the global financial and economic crisis on traffic at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) has now been relegated to the history books. In the reporting month of April 2011, traffic volumes for passengers, cargo (airfreight plus airmail) and MTOWs (Maximum Takeoff Weights) all reached new April records and surpassed the April 2008 figures. FRA's dramatic 31 percent year-on year growth in passenger traffic is, first and foremost, the result of a statistical base effect. In April 2010 the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland brought European aviation to a standstill for almost one week. Eliminating all special effects - including political unrest in the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa) as well as the earthquake/Tsunami catastrophe in Japan and taking into account the late-occurring Easter travel season in April this year instead of March in 2010 - FRA ends up with "regular" growth of 210,000 to 250,000 passengers in April 2011. This represents a passenger gain of about six to seven percent year-on-year.

Commenting on the latest traffic report, Fraport executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte said: "Even before the opening of Frankfurt Airport's new runway in October 2011, we are seeing impressive confirmation of our expectations for noticeable growth in air traffic. We have immediately achieved record performance during this first month of the new summer timetable."

Schulte further explained that Fraport registered more than 4.6 million passengers at its Frankfurt Airport home base; a year ago the figure was only 3.5 million passengers. Germany's leading air transportation hub also handled about 187,000 metric tons of airfreight in April 2011, up approximately 13 percent year-on-year. Aircraft movements climbed by 25.4 percent to some 40,000 takeoffs and landings last month. Accumulated MTOWs (maximum takeoff weights) reached well over 2.4 million metric tons - rising 23.5 percent year-on-year.

Not only Fraport's home airport recorded a dynamic growth trend. The Group's majority-owned airports overseas also experienced strong growth in April 2011. Leading the way, Antalya Airport (AYT) served 1.6 million passengers and achieved growth of 45.1 percent in the reporting month. Part of this increase can be attributed to the special situation in the North Africa tourism market and to this year's Easter traffic occurring in April.

Peru's Lima Airport (LIM) followed with a 23.6 jump in traffic to 920,000 passengers. The Bulgarian Black Sea airports of Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) still operate at a smaller statistical spring base for passenger figures, which can lead to unusual percent growth values. In the reporting month, BOJ saw traffic surge by almost 200 percent to 19,500 passengers, while VAR experienced a modest 0.6 percent increase to 31,600 passengers.

The Fraport Group's five majority-owned airports welcomed a total of 7.2 million passengers in April 2011, representing year-on-year growth of 33 percent.

Frankfurt Airport is the first airport to be carbon accredited under the European-initiated ACA program: ( http://www.airportcarbonaccrediation.org):

ANR 16/2011 - May 12, 2011

Frankfurt Airport's Traffic Figures - April 2011

    
                              April 2011   Change [2]              Change [2]
 
                                            April 11/   Jan. -   Jan. - April
                                            April 10  April 2011    11/10

    Passengers [1]               4,641,313   31.2 %   16,406,007       10.2 %
 
                                             
    Airfreight [1]                 187,381   12.7 %      730,359        5.7 %
    in metric tons
                                       
    Airmail [1]                      6,678   24.1 %       25,932        5.0 %
    in metric tons 
                                      
    Aircraft Movements              40,369   25.4 %      154,739        9.8 %
 
                                                      
    MTOWs                        2,434,061   23.5 %    9,275,213       10.1 %
    in metric tons 
                               
 
    Punctuality                       80.7                  76.9
    share of punctual
    arrivals
    and departures in
    percent

    ---------------------------------

    [1] Total traffic (arrivals + departures + transit)

    [2] Change over previous year

    ANR 16/2011> May 12, 2011

    Fraport Group - Traffic Figures for April 2011

      Airports                        Cargo in             Aircraft
                                       metric              Movements
                 Passengers[1] Change tons abs.  Change                Change
                                         (+                absolute
                   absolute     in %  airmail)    in %                  in %
      Frankfurt    4,640,999   31.2   191,087      12.8      40,369      25.4
        (FRA)
                   1,608,406   45.1      n.a.      n.a.      11,592      35.2
 
      Antalya
       (AYT)
                      19,527  197.9       898      30.1         455      29.3
 
    Burgas (BOJ)
    Lima (LIM)[2]    920,525   23.6    20,957      18.6      11,119      17.7
     Varna (VAR)      31,629    0.6         5      20.2         525      -7.4
       Fraport     7,221,086   33.0   212,947      13.4      64,060      25.3
        Group

---------------------------------

[1] Passengers (commercial traffic: arrivals + departures + transit)

[2] Figures provided by LIM

    
    For Further Information, Please Contact:

    Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
    Robert A. Payne, B.A.A. - Senior Mgr. International Press & PR
    International Spokesman, Press Office (Dept. UKM-PS),
    Corporate Communications, 60547 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
    Tel.: +49-69-690-78547; E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de; Internet:

http://www.fraport.com