Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s primary air travel hub, has reported a rise in passenger traffic for the month of May, driven by a strong demand for leisure travel to destinations in southern Europe. This surge was further fueled by the early Whitsun holiday, a period of increased travel activity. Despite this positive development, passenger numbers still remain 11.8% below the pre-pandemic levels recorded in May 2019.
While overall passenger traffic for the first five months of 2024 has climbed by 8.5% year-on-year, reaching 23.1 million passengers, Frankfurt’s recovery lags behind other major European airports. For example, London Heathrow recently announced record-breaking passenger numbers for May and has surpassed 81 million passengers in the past year.
Frankfurt witnessed passenger increases to most regions in May, with a particularly notable surge (17.9%) in travel to Asia, specifically to China and India. However, traffic to Africa remained stagnant compared to the previous year, while travel to the Middle East experienced a 13.4% decline. Fraport, the company that operates Frankfurt Airport, attributed this decline to the current political climate in the Middle East.
Fraport, which also manages airports in Slovenia, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, Brazil, and Peru, saw a group-wide increase in passenger traffic for May, reaching 15.8 million passengers. This represents a 6.3% year-on-year growth for the group, reflecting a broader recovery in global air travel.
