No flight shame: After the corona pandemic brought aviation the worst crisis in its history, the airports are again experiencing a real rush. And it looks like Munich airport boss Jost Lammers could be right with his forecast that the pre-crisis level can be reached again in 2024.
The airport presented the results for the 2022 financial year on Tuesday. And they are characterized by enormous growth rates. The number of passengers increased from around 12.5 million in 2021 to around 31.6 million in 2022. This corresponds to an increase of 153 percent.
The number of passengers in Munich is around 70 percent of the record value of 2019. The number of flight movements rose from around 153,000 to 285,000. And the volume of air freight and air mail also rose by 54 percent to 267,000 tons.
Economically, the airport is on the up again. The airport company FMG was able to almost double its turnover last year to 1.2 billion euros. The loss after taxes fell from 261 million euros to almost 59 million. On balance, FMG expects to be in the black again this year.
Long-distance travel destinations are particularly in demand
The first three months of 2022 were still weak due to the pandemic, but then travel increased above average from the Easter holidays onwards. Long-distance travel destinations were particularly in demand. According to Lammers, traffic between Munich and the USA between July and November was even above the level of 2019. The same applies to destinations in Asia in the first three months of this year.
In 2023, Lammers estimates, passenger numbers will reach around 80 percent of the level before the pandemic. This is mainly due to the function of the airport as an international hub. Its importance is also shown by the fact that Lufthansa will soon have four Airbuses again A380 will be stationed permanently in Munich in order to be able to serve popular routes in North America traffic. In Europe, the largest passenger aircraft is otherwise only at home in London Heathrow.
The hub will be further strengthened by new Lufthansa destinations in Europe, such as Bordeaux in France, Oviedo in Spain and Rzeszów in Poland. Also new is a connection with Taiwan’s capital, Taipei. There are also long-haul routes that have been resumed, for example to Osaka and Tokyo in Japan or Mexico City. As far as the number of connections is concerned, according to a study by the airport association ACI, Munich ranks fifth in a global comparison.
According to Lammers, the abolition of the pandemic-related travel restrictions will also boost the further development of traffic volume. After China has said goodbye to the so-called zero-Covid policy, a rapid recovery of the once heavy traffic volume between Munich and China can be expected, according to Lammers. “In the current year, catch-up effects in particular will also come into play here.”
The airport boss promises that there will be no suitcase chaos this time
According to Lammers, there are various reasons why this year it will not quite reach the previous peak values. Development was hampered by high inflation and a limited number of seats, which in turn drives up ticket prices.
Lammers is convinced that Munich Airport will be able to cope with the expected challenges of the summer travel season. He promises there will be no suitcase chaos like last year. The staff is “well prepared”. FMG currently has 8,400 employees; before the pandemic there were around 10,000. Recruiting new staff in a region where there is full employment is a challenge that does not only affect FMG, according to Lammers.
As for the expansion of the airport, this is how FMG invests in various projects. In the meantime, the interior work on the extended Terminal 1 has started. It is expected to be operational in early 2026, said Nathalie Leroy, chief executive for finance and infrastructure. The Airport Academy, a training center run by FMG, is soon to move into the second building at the Lab Campus research site. The Technical University of Munich is also planning to set up its faculty for aeronautics, space travel and geodesy at the airport. The construction of a third hotel will also start this year, and the opening of the new P43 car park is planned for next year. Also in 2024, probably in autumn, the changeover to the modern security check in Terminal 2 should be completed, which should be much faster in the future.