fbpx

Fraport inhibited by Frankfurt traffic growth slowdown; reliant again on international business

Fraport’s name was once synonymous with most international tenders for airport concessions.

Latterly it has settled on a portfolio of mainly smaller regional airports in countries like Greece, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Brazil, while losing two of its long-standing investments in Russia and China.

It could be expected that Frankfurt Airport would be the main breadwinner in this family, but as CAPA – Centre for Aviation has noted previously, the international airports no longer play second fiddle.

While Frankfurt is inhibited by the high fees at German airports, which have doubled since 2020 – forcing LCCs to look elsewhere and with more pain to come – international airports reported twice the passenger growth level in 1H2024 once two areas that have problems of their own – Bulgaria and Brazil – were taken out of the equation.

Two of them have been lost in the last five years – Xi’an in China, which was a voluntary decision, and St Petersburg Pulkovo, which was not.

Overall, Fraport got through the COVID-19 pandemic in reasonably good financial shape, and its 1H2024 statement makes for reassuring reading again, with those international airports making a notable contribution to the bottom line.

The FY2024 forecast looks more promising still.

The question now is whether Fraport will continue with its consolidation or look for fresh opportunities elsewhere.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *