FRA welcomes some 48.9 million passengers in 2022 – increase of 97.2% compared to 2021

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed some 48.9 million passengers in 2022 – nearly doubling the figure for 2021 and resulting in an increase of 97.2%. At the start of last year, demand was still restrained over concerns about the spread of the omicron variant of the corona virus. However, from March 2022 until the end of the year, passenger traffic saw dynamic growth. Leisure travel benefited from a rebound in demand as anti-COVID measures and travel restrictions were gradually lifted. During the main vacation periods of 2022, monthly traffic in Frankfurt saw strong triple-digit growth rates compared to 2021 – reaching a peak of over 300% in April. In the fourth quarter, passenger traffic continued thriving at a monthly rate of between 40 and 50%. Demand for business travel also recovered steadily towards the end of the year. Compared with the 2019 pre-crisis level, FRA’s passenger volume was still down by 30.7% in 2022. 

In 2022, FRA’s aircraft movements increased by 45.9% year-on-year to 382,211 take-offs and landings (2019 comparison: down 25.6%). Accumulated maximum take-off weights (MTOWs) grew by 37.1% year-on-year to about 24.2 million metric tonnes (2019 comparison: down 23.9%).

Cargo volumes in Frankfurt (comprising airfreight and airmail) noticeably decreased by 13.3% year-on-year to around 2.0 million metric tonnes in 2022 (2019 comparison: down 5.6%). The main factors contributing to this decline included the airspace restrictions related to the war in Ukraine, the zero-COVID strategy pursued by China throughout almost the entire year and the overall economic slowdown.

All airports actively managed by the Fraport Group around the globe reported strong growth during 2022, with Fraport’s Greek airports in the lead. Combined 2022 traffic figures for the Greek gateways even exceeded the 2019 pre-crisis levels for the first time since the pandemic.

Slovenia’s Ljubljana Airport (LJU) saw traffic rise by over 100% year-on-year to 970,152 passengers during the full year of 2022 (2019 comparison: down 43.6%).

Fraport’s two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA), combined, recorded some 12.4 million passengers in 2022 – a 41.0% gain compared to 2021 (2019 comparison: down 19.9%). At Peru’s Lima Airport (LIM), traffic soared by 72.0% to about 18.6 million passengers in 2022 (2019 comparison: down 21.2%).

Fraport’s 14 Greek regional airports served some 31.2 million passengers overall in 2022, an increase of 79.0% compared to 2021 (2019 comparison: up 3.5%).

The Bulgarian coastal airports of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) saw combined traffic in 2022 advance by 59.2% year-on-year to around 3.1 million passengers (2019 comparison: down 37.1%).

Traffic at Antalya Airport (AYT) on the Turkish Riviera jumped by 41.8% year-on year to about 31.1 million passengers in 2022 (2019 comparison: down 12.4%).