Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed approximately 6.0 million passengers in July 2024 Amid Strong Long-Haul Demand in Air Travel

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Frankfurt Airport (FRA) welcomed approximately 6.0 million passengers in July 2024, marking a slight increase of 0.5 percent compared to the same period last year. This growth reflects a continued recovery in air travel, although passenger volumes remained about 12.7 percent below pre-pandemic levels from July 2019. The most popular European destinations during the summer travel season included the Balearic Islands, Portugal, and Italy. Additionally, long-haul traffic experienced robust demand, particularly on routes to and from the United States. Notably, traffic to and from China in the Far East rebounded significantly, with a 35.5 percent year-on-year increase.

The passenger load factor, a key indicator of aircraft capacity utilization, also reached a new record high of 86.1 percent in July 2024. This surpasses the previous record set in August 2015 by 0.2 percentage points, indicating more efficient use of available seats despite the overall decline in passenger numbers compared to pre-pandemic levels.

In addition to passenger growth, FRA’s cargo throughput, which includes airfreight and airmail, showed a positive trend with a 5.0 percent year-on-year increase, totaling 172,741 metric tons in July 2024. This growth highlights the resilience of air cargo operations, even as the passenger segment continues its gradual recovery. However, the number of aircraft movements, which includes takeoffs and landings, remained relatively stable, with a slight decrease of 0.3 percent year-on-year, totaling 40,515 movements. Maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) saw a modest increase of 0.6 percent year-on-year, reaching approximately 2.5 million metric tons.

Fraport’s global network of airports reported mixed results for July 2024. Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia recorded a significant 8.1 percent increase in passenger traffic, reaching 161,783 passengers. Conversely, the two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza (FOR) and Porto Alegre (POA) experienced a combined traffic drop of 48.6 percent year-on-year, totaling 632,104 passengers. The decline at POA was primarily due to the suspension of flight operations following severe flooding in the Porto Alegre region, leading to a contingency schedule with limited domestic flights from a nearby military base.

In contrast, Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru saw a substantial surge in passenger traffic, with 2.2 million travelers passing through in July, representing a 12.6 percent year-on-year increase. Fraport’s 14 Greek regional airports also reported positive growth, with passenger numbers rising by 3.8 percent year-on-year to a total of 6.4 million travelers. However, Bulgaria’s Twin Star airports of Burgas (BOJ) and Varna (VAR) saw a slight decline in traffic, down 1.7 percent year-on-year to 796,997 passengers. Meanwhile, Antalya Airport (AYT) on Turkey’s Riviera experienced a 2.1 percent increase in passenger numbers, totaling around 5.6 million travelers.

Overall, the total passenger volume across all airports managed by Fraport in July 2024 remained stable at approximately 21.8 million, similar to the prior year’s figures, underscoring the ongoing recovery and challenges within the global aviation industry.