11.01.2002 – 10:08

Fraport AG

Frankfurt Airport's Traffic Report 2001: Passenger Figures Declined Only 1.6 Percent

Frankfurt (ots)

The collapse in international aviation after
September 11 also affected Germany's largest airport, but the decline
in traffic figures was lower than first feared. Frankfurt Airport
(airport code = FRA) welcomed about 48.6 million passengers in 2001,
only 1.6 percent less than in the previous year.  Handling almost 1.5
million metric tons in 2001, Europe's most important airfreight hub
recorded a six-percent decline. Airmail grew 0.1 percent to 141,110
metric tons and aircraft movements slowed to 456,452 take-offs and
landings (minus 0.5 percent) in 2001.  Maximum Take Off Weights
(MTOWs), important for determining a major portion of landing fees,
grew by almost one percent to nearly 25.6 million metric tons.

Passenger traffic slumped heavily after the terrorist attacks in
the U.S. However, the trend in monthly passenger traffic at Frankfurt
Airport is encouraging -- the decline seems to have bottomed out.
Compared to the corresponding month in 2000, October registered a
13.9 decline in passenger traffic. In November passenger traffic
recorded a 10.9 percent drop. In December there was only a
single-digit decline in passenger figures, namely 7.9 percent.

These figures for 2001 show that FRA was less affected than other
German airports by the collapse in passenger figures. During crisis
periods, the aviation industry always responds by strongly
consolidating activities at the major hub airports; airline capacity
adjustments and route cancellations have increased transfer traffic
and the share of wide-body aircraft at FRA.

Fraport AG's traffic statistics show that July 2001 was FRA's peak
month last year for aircraft movements, with 41,092 take-offs and
landings.  The absolute peak day of 2001 was on June 28, when 1,395
aircraft movements were registered. The peak hours of the year
occurred on both July 29 and September 26, when FRA handled 98
take-offs and landings within a 60-minute period. These figures are
only slightly below historical peak values.

Frankfurt Airport's punctuality performance increased last year,
too. The share of punctual flights at FRA -- which, among other
things, are affected by existing capacity constraints -- reached 76.3
percent in 2001, up from 75.5 percent in 2000 and 63.4 percent in
1999.

Frankfurt Airport's Traffic Figures for 2001 and December 2001

Jan.(Dec. 2001    Change (2)  December  Change (2)
                              2001/2000    2001     Dec. 01/Dec. 00

Passengers      48.6       -1.6 %       3.2       -7.9 %
   in millions

Airfreight   1,494.1       -6.0 %     123.5       -9.1 %
   in thousands 
   of metric tons

Airmail        141.1        0.1 %      13.7       -5.6 %
   in thousands 
   of metric tons

Aircraft       456.5       -0.5 %      33.8       -3.9 %
   Movements (1)
   in thousands

MTOWs       25,564.5       -0.8 %   1,878.1       -6.8 %
   in thousands 
   of metric tons

Punctuality     76.3                   70.6

share of punctual arrivals 
   and departures in percent

1 Excluding military flights.
   2 Rate of change based on unrounded numbers

Contact:

Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide
Attn: Robert A. Payne - Manager International Press
60547 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Tel.: +49/69/690-78547 (with voice mailbox)
Fax: +49/69/690-60548 / E-Mail: r.payne@fraport.de
Internet: www.fraport.com (click on "Press Lounge")