Frankfurt Airport (FRA) closed the year 2017 with 6.1% growth. More than 64.5 million passengers traveled through Germany’s largest aviation hub. European traffic served as the main growth driver, increasing by 7.4%, while intercontinental traffic rose by 4.9%. FRA’s cargo throughput (airfreight + airmail) advanced by 3.6$ year-on-year to some 2.2 million metric tons. Aircraft movements at Frankfurt grew by 2.7% to 475,537 takeoffs and landings – attributable to increased flight offerings from the airlines. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) rose by 1.3%, surpassing 30 million metric tons in 2017.
In 2017, Ljubljana Airport (LJU) in Slovenia received some 1.7 million passengers (up 19.8%). Lima Airport (LIM) in Peru’s capital recorded a 9.3% rise in traffic to 20.6 million passengers. Combined, the Fraport Twin Star airports of Varna (VAR) and Burgas (BOJ) welcomed nearly 5.0 million passengers, up 8.4% year-on-year.
Fraport’s 14 Greek regional airports closed 2017 with a combined total of about 27.6 million passengers, representing a rise of 10.3%. The busiest airports included: Kavala (KVA), where traffic surged by 22.8% to 337,963 passengers; Kos (KGS), posting a gain of 20.7% to some 2.3 million passengers; and Mykonos (JMK) which advanced by 18.6% to about 1.2 million passengers.
Antalya Airport (AYT) on the Turkish Riviera performed well again in 2017 – following a difficult year in 2016 – with a significant 38.5% traffic gain to 26.3 million passengers. In northern Germany, Hanover Airport (HAJ) also registered a rise of 8.5% to 5.9 million passengers. Pulkovo Airport (LED) in St. Petersburg, Russia, reported significant double-digit growth of 21.6% to 16.1 million passengers, following a slight drop in 2016. China’s Xi’an Airport (XIY) served 41.9 million passengers, up 13.1% year-on-year.