Frankfurt Records Highest Air Freight Volume in History

The cargo volume at Frankfurt Airport recorded a significant increase of 18.7 percent in 2021, reaching approximately 2.32 million tons, marking the highest annual figure in the history of Frankfurt Airport (compared to 2019: plus 8.9 percent). This growth is primarily driven by air freight, while air mail continues to be affected by the lack of capacity in passenger aircraft. The passenger volume is also recovering noticeably.

(Frankfurt/Main) In 2021, Frankfurt Airport counted a total of approximately 24.8 million passengers. This is an increase of 32.2 percent compared to the previous year, when passenger numbers had plummeted due to the Corona pandemic. The demand recovered significantly following the easing of travel restrictions after the third lockdown in May last year. Predominantly European tourist traffic particularly revived this during the summer season. From autumn onwards, intercontinental traffic also increased again. Towards the end of the year, the recovery slightly weakened due to the new virus variant. Compared to the pre-crisis level of 2019, passenger volume was down by 64.8 percent¹.

Dr. Stefan Schulte, CEO of Fraport AG: “Last year, Frankfurt Airport was also heavily impacted by the effects of the Corona pandemic. Although passenger numbers gradually recovered over the year and tripled from April to December compared to 2020, we are still far from the pre-crisis level of 2019. However, the development of cargo is very encouraging. We achieved a historic record here, despite the continued lack of capacity in passenger aircraft. This underscores that despite the current challenges, we remain one of the leading cargo hubs in Europe.”

The number of flight movements increased by 23.4 percent to 261,927 take-offs and landings compared to 2020 (compared to 2019: minus 49.0 percent). The total maximum take-off weights grew by 18.9 percent to approximately 17.7 million tons (compared to 2019: minus 44.5 percent).

Contrasting Trends in December

In December, passenger traffic recorded an increase of 204.6 percent compared to the weak comparison month of 2020, reaching around 2.7 million passengers. Although rising incidence rates and new travel restrictions due to the spread of the Omicron variant dampened overall demand, stronger intercontinental and travel traffic over the Christmas holidays contributed to the continuation of the recovery that has been ongoing since May. Compared to December 2019, passenger volume in Frankfurt was again more than half of the level at that time (minus 44.2 percent).

With 27,951 take-offs and landings, flight movements increased by 105.1 percent compared to the same month in 2020 (compared to December 2019: minus 23.7 percent). The total maximum take-off weights recorded an increase of 65.4 percent to approximately 1.8 million tons (compared to December 2019: minus 23.2 percent).

Cargo volume increased in December by 6.2 percent to approximately 197,100 tons, reaching the highest monthly figure since December 2007 (compared to December 2019: plus 15.7 percent).

The Situation Remains Highly Dynamic

Dr. Schulte on the outlook for the current year: “The situation remains highly dynamic in 2022. No one can predict today how the pandemic will develop in the coming months. Associated and often unfortunately inconsistent travel restrictions will continue to demand a lot from the entire aviation industry. Despite these uncertainties, we look forward with optimism and expect a significantly increasing demand again from spring onwards.”

¹Editorial Note: For better comparability, we will continue to present in our reporting on traffic figures the respective changes compared to the base year 2019 in addition to the comparison with the previous year’s period until further notice.

Photo: © Fraport