Frankfurt Airport sees 5 mn passengers for first time since Covid pandemic

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 in early 2020, authorities said on Thursday.

The 5.02 million passengers logged in July marked an increase of 76.5 per cent compared to the same month last year, dpa news agency quoted airport operator Fraport as saying.

But that was still 27.4 per cent 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 flag carrier Lufthansa led to an absence of around 100,000 passengers that would have normally been there.

In terms of cargo volume, Frankfurt lost 18 per cent 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.

--IANS

ksk/