Fraport ups passenger numbers

In October, Fraport increased the number of flights at its main Frankfurt Airport by 1.1 percent compared with a year ago to 43,000 departures and landings, the German airport operator said Monday.

The additional flights boosted the number of passengers to 5.2 million, which was 1.4 percent more than in October 2011. Moreover, flight schedules were adhered to more accurately as 81 percent of all flights were processed on time, Fraport said.

The rise in passenger numbers was achieved despite major disruptions caused by a walkout of cabin staff at German carrier Lufthansa, as well as inhibited air traffic resulting from storm Sandy in the United States.

However, freight tonnage fell by 180,000 tons in October, down 7.3 percent year-on-year. Fraport attributed the drop to uncertainty over the global economy, the eurozone debt crisis and restrictions on night flights at its main hub in Frankfurt.

The company also reported mixed results from its international operations in which Fraport holds majority stakes. While passenger numbers were markedly up by 14.9 percent at Lima Airport in Peru, figures slumped 4.2 percent at airports Varna and Burgas in Bulgaria.

Nevertheless, the overall number of passengers processed at all Fraport airports rose 2.7 percent to 9.1 million in October, causing Fraport to maintain its outlook for 2012 revenues and profits to remain more or less the same as last year.

uhe/mz (dpa, dapd)