Frankfurt Airport Cracks 5-Million Mark for First Time in COVID Era

Aug. 11, 2022

Frankfurt — Frankfurt Airport, Germany's main air transport hub, saw more than 5 million passengers in one month for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

The 5.02 million passengers logged in July marked an increase of 76.5% compared to the same month last year, airport operator Fraport said on Thursday.

But that was still 27.4% down from 2019, which was a record year for Frankfurt Airport.

Despite the lower passenger numbers compared to the pre-crisis period, there were major problems with aircraft handling due to staff shortages, resulting in cancellations and delays as carriers thinned out their schedules to reduce pressure on the airport.

In addition, a day-long strike at Lufthansa, the airport's main carrier, led to an absence of around 100,000 passengers that would have normally been there.

In terms of cargo volume, Frankfurt lost 18% of its volume compared with July 2021. The reasons cited were the closed airspace over Russia and Ukraine and tough coronavirus restrictions imposed in China.

©2022 dpa GmbH. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photos by Ingrid Barrentine & Joe Nicholson, Alaska Airlines