- Passenger numbers at the airport have been rising steadily for months
- Promise of strong growth as US opens its borders to foreign visitors
- Jost Lammers: We are bringing momentum back to Munich as a premium hub
Munich. 23 September 2021. Traffic at Munich Airport has risen steadily since the beginning of the summer months. While only 570,000 passengers were registered at Munich Airport in the first quarter of the year due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and resulting travel restrictions, this figure more than tripled in August alone to over 1.8 million. At his visit to the Munich Press Club, the CEO of Flughafen München GmbH, Jost Lammers, added that passenger demand is still high after the end of the summer holidays. The airport welcomed a total of 440,000 passengers in the first week after the holidays, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. Jost Lammers: “This also means that the current volume of traffic is not a result only of stronger tourist travel, but also that a stable traffic structure has been established again, at least for short and medium-haul routes.”
Despite this positive trend, however, the current overall volume of traffic still remains far below pre-pandemic levels. At present, passenger numbers at Munich Airport are at about 40% of 2019 levels, with take-offs and landings at about 50% of this figure. Many routes have still not resumed on account of continued travel restrictions, especially for long-haul flights. Jost Lammers: “Given this, we were extremely pleased to hear that the current travel ban imposed by the US for those traveling from Germany and many other European countries will be lifted at the start of November. Without a doubt, this reopening will massively revive transatlantic travel, especially as there will likely be a considerable catch-up effect here after a long absence due to the pandemic.”
The Munich Airport CEO believes that “the worst of the crisis is over.” Given recent events, Lammers expects the volume of traffic to increase substantially in the year ahead. “Together with Lufthansa, our aim is still to bring momentum back to the global hub that is Munich Airport while at the same time laying the groundwork for intermodal and sustainable transportation.”
