Signs of Recovery at Munich Airport

The third quarter of this year showed a decline of just 3.6%, as compared with the 9% drop in total passengers seen at Munich Airport in the first six months of 2009.

The main factor behind this noticeable recovery is stronger demand for personal travel, which largely offset the decrease in the business travel sector. During the first nine months of 2009 a total of approximately 25 million travelers used Munich Airport.

The number of take-offs and landings at Munich Airport was also down approximately 9% in the same period a year earlier to about 300,000 flights. The steeper decline in aircraft movements as compared with total passengers reflects the fact that the airlines have responded to the crisis by pooling their flights and reducing their total supply of seats. The use of larger aircraft and an improved load factor in August and September 2009 also resulted in a significant increase in the average number of passengers per flight.

The global economic downturn continues to put a damper on the worldwide cargo sector. Munich Airport handled approximately 57,000 tons of flown airfreight and airmail in the third quarter: a decrease of 13% as compared with the same period last year. However, in view of the 18% drop seen in the first half of the year, this area is also showing the first signs of recovery.

A surge in demand can be seen especially in some long-haul segments. For instance, passenger traffic on the routes to the high-growth markets in Asia was up by more than 5% during the first nine months of the year. Strong growth was also seen on routes to African destinations, which posted increases of around 20%. The downward trend on routes to the USA continues because airlines have cut back on capacity due to the global economic crisis.

Detailed traffic figures for the first nine months of 2009:

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