Traffic Developments at Central German Airports during the First Half of 2012: Significant Growth in Passenger and Freight Traffic at Leipzig/Halle Airport, More Passengers at Dresden International Airport
2012-07-23 — /travelprnews.com/ — The two commercial airports operated under the umbrella of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG, Leipzig/Halle Airport and Dresden International, both registered growth in traffic levels during the first six months of 2012, but growth of different kinds. Overall, 1,886,262* passengers passed through the two airports during the first six months, which corresponds to an increase of 0.6 percent.
There was a significant rise in the number of passengers starting or finishing their journey at Leipzig/Halle Airport in particular. The number of passengers in this sector rose by 14.8 percent to a figure of 896,023* from January to June in comparison to the previous year. This means that the figures for Leipzig/Halle are significantly above the German national average of about two percent. The main reasons for this are the expansion of services operated by Ryanair and the new Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul.
Total passenger numbers, including transit passengers, rose by one percent to 1,013,336* during the first half of the year compared to 2011.
The above average increase in passengers starting and finishing their journey at the airport was able to compensate for the ongoing decline in transit traffic, which fell by almost 50 percent in comparison with the previous year. Most of the transit passengers are those travelling on US civil airlines. They fly to Leipzig/Halle for technical stopovers and carry relatives of military personnel.
Double digit growth in freight traffic at Leipzig/Halle Airport, Germany’s second largest cargo hub, is continuing. The airport handled approx. 422,315 tonnes from January to June. This represents an increase of 15 percent compared to the previous year. This development also contrasts markedly with the general German trend, which registered a decline in air freight traffic of approx. five percent.
The number of passengers passing through Dresden International Airport during the first six months of 2012 rose by 0.1 percent to a figure of 872,926*. Any further growth was particularly hampered by the halting of flights to Zurich, Vienna and Hamburg for the time being as a result of the insolvency of Cirrus Airlines. The flights to Zurich and Hamburg have been taken over by OLT Express with an expanded timetable and have been operating since February and April respectively.
*commercial passengers
“Despite the ongoing difficult general conditions for air traffic, both our airports, Leipzig/Halle and Dresden International, have registered notable growth in traffic. Based on the ongoing growth in the freight sector, particularly as a result of DHL’s commitment to the airport, Leipzig/Halle is continuing to expand its position as Germany’s second largest cargo hub. Passenger levels are also growing much faster than the German average thanks to the low-cost flights, and this is also being spurred on by the successful new scheduled service operated by Turkish Airlines from Leipzig/Halle.
A new airline partner was quickly found to replace the inevitable cessation of flights as a result of the insolvency of Cirrus Airlines – and OLT Express has even expanded the services previously available. We are confident about the second half of the year as we look at the situation at the two airports and the holiday travel season that is just around the corner,” says Markus Kopp, CEO of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG.
Flughafen Leipzig/Halle GmbH is a subsidiary of Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding. In 2011, more than 2.27 million passengers and 760,345 tonnes of cargo were handled, thus making Leipzig/Halle Airport the second largest cargo airport in Germany.
Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding is the parent brand of Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG, a company operated by the public sector. The Group currently has three subsidiaries: Leipzig/Halle Airport, Dresden International Airport and PortGround.
The Group handled 99,184 aircraft movements, 4.2 million passengers and 760,737 tonnes of cargo during 2011. The Group directly employs 1,027 members of staff. In all, 8,802 people work at the Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG airport sites for various companies and public authorities.
Mitteldeutsche Airport Holding has had a cooperation arrangement with the Shenzhen Airport Group since October 2010.
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