BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - German airport operator Fraport (FRA.DE, 0O1R.L, FPRUF.PK) reported Thursday that Frankfurt Airport or FRA passenger traffic in the month of March declined 56.4 percent to 925,277 passengers compared to March 2020 when the onset of the coronavirus crisis already reduced traffic significantly.
Compared to March 2019, prior to Covid, traffic decreased 83.5 percent for the reporting month.
In contrast, cargo throughput at FRA continued to rise by 24.6 percent year-on-year to 208,506 metric tons during March, and was up 3.0 percent compared to March 2019.
Aircraft movements decreased 40.1 percent year-on-year to 13,676 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights or MTOWs contracted by 30.3 percent to about 1.1 million metric tons.
During the January-to-March 2021 period, nearly 2.5 million passengers traveled through FRA, down 77.6 percent from 2020 and down 83.2 percent from 2019.
The airports in Fraport's international portfolio reported mixed results for March 2021, with passenger traffic still largely affected by the pandemic situation.
Slovenia's Ljubljana Airport saw traffic sink by 78.3 percent year-on-year in March 2021. Combined, the two Brazilian airports of Fortaleza and Porto Alegre received a total of 330,162 passengers, down 57.7 percent. Traffic at Peru's Lima Airport dropped by 46.2 percent.
The 14 Greek regional airports registered a total traffic decline of 60.0 percent year-on-year. On the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, the Twin Star airports of Burgas and Varna together welcomed 21,502 passengers in March 2021, down 46.1 percent.
When compared to March 2019, all Group airports registered noticeable passenger declines.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX