FRANKFURT AM MAIN, June 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- With the growth trend stabilizing, Frankfurt Airport (FRA) registered new record levels for both passengers and airfreight in May 2010. FRA welcomed some 4,761,086 passengers and handled more than 200,000 metric tons of airfreight. The previous busiest May was in 2008, when the Fraport Group served 4,742,024 passengers at its FRA home base.

Passenger figures jumped a noticeable 7.1 percent in May 2010 compared to May 2009, when 4.4 million passengers used FRA. Surging by 39.7 percent year-on-year, airfreight tonnage at Frankfurt Airport reached 204,332 metric tons - making May 2010 the busiest airfreight month in Frankfurt Airport's history.

Commenting on the latest traffic results, Fraport AG executive board chairman Dr. Stefan Schulte said: "The extremely satisfying May 2010 figures confirm the positive trend in passenger development and again impressively underpin Frankfurt Airport's strength, particularly in the intercontinental aviation sector. The high growth rates in airfreight tonnage result especially from Asia's dynamic economic activity and from airfreight's special forte of making available at short notice the capacities required by industry and trade."

Schulte further explained that May 2010 also marked a new record for maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) in absolute terms, with 2.49 million metric tons handled. Aircraft movements improved by 2.5 percent year-on-year to 41,694 takeoffs and landings. This improvement includes a conspicuous eight percent rise in intercontinental flights, underscoring FRA's outstanding role as an international air transportation hub.

Statistics for the year to date (January to May) give a misleading impression of the underlying pattern of growth, due to a series of extraordinary adverse effects on the air transportation industry. In the first five months of 2010, passenger traffic increased by only 0.1 percent year-on-year. Activity was depressed because of the harsh winter weather, the pilot strike and, particularly, the unprecedented almost total shutdown of flight operations during the volcanic ash cloud. However, the airfreight boom continued nearly unaffected by the flight freeze. Growth amounted to 32.7 percent in May 2010.

On the Group level, the factors curbing growth were offset by Fraport's global diversification. The Fraport Group's five majority-owned airports welcomed approximately 8.3 million passengers in May 2010, 14.2 percent more than in May 2009. Cargo throughput (airfreight and airmail tonnage) jumped 39.2 percent to a total of 230,064 metric tons. Aircraft movements at Frankfurt (FRA), Antalya (AYT), Lima (LIM), Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) rose 9.9 percent to 70,432 takeoffs and landings. Antalya and Lima again turned out to be the growth drivers. Turkey's Antalya Airport registered 29.6 percent passenger growth in May 2010, while Peru's Lima Airport welcomed 19.5 percent more passengers. Aircraft movements climbed 30.2 percent at AYT and 16.2 percent at LIM.

Frankfurt Airport's Traffic Figures - May 2010

    
                          May    Change (2)  Jan. - May   Change (2)
                         2010      May 10/     2010     Jan. - May
                                   May 09                  10/09
                                                  
    Passengers (1)     4,761,086    7.1 %   19,643,164     0.1 %
 
    Airfreight (1)       204,332   39.7 %      895,022    32.7 %
    in metric tons

    Airmail                6,186   -5.5 %       30,877    -5.7 %
    in metric tons

    Aircraft Movements    41,694    2.5 %      182,598    -2.8 %
    (3)
 
    MTOWs              2,493,531    5.3 %   10,920,820     0.0 %
    in metric tons

    Punctuality        
    share of punctual
    arrivals
    and departures in
    percent                 69.7                  68.0


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

    (2) Change over previous year

    (3) Excluding military flights

    Fraport Group - Traffic Figures for May 2010


    
    Airports     Passengers([1]) Change  Cargo in
                                         metric tons
                 absolute        in %    abs. (+
                                         airmail)

    Frankfurt    4,760,662       7.1     207,522
    (FRA) 
    Antalya      2,482,722      29.6        n.a.
    (AYT) (2)
    Burgas (BOJ)    87,544       9.1         594
    Lima (LIM) (3) 839,040      19.5      21,943  
    Varna (VAR)     81,912      -3.3           6
    Fraport            
    Group        8,251,880      14.2     230,064

    Table Continued


    
    Airports          Change         Aircraft Movements Change
                      in %           absolute           in %

    Frankfurt (FRA)   38.0           41,694             2.5
    Antalya (AYT) (2) n.a.           16,658            30.2
    Burgas (BOJ)      53.1            1,006             8.2
    Lima (LIM) (3)    51.1            9,971            16.2
    Varna (VAR)       -4.9            1,103             0.4
    Fraport Group     39.2           70,432             9.9

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

    (2) Adjusted for 2009 base-year value.

    (3) Figures provided by LIM

Print-quality photos of Frankfurt Airport and Fraport AG are availale free for downloading via the Internet at http://www.fraport.com (Menu: select Press Center > then Photo Service). For TV news and information broadcasting purposes only, we also offer free footage material for downloading via http://fraport.cms-gomex.com.

    
    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; Fax: +49.69.690.60548;
    E-mail: r.payne@fraport.de; Internet: http://www.fraport.com