Munich Airport Reports March 2010 Traffic

Passenger demand at Munich Airport is again showing significant growth, with the total number of passengers using the airport in the first three months of 2010 showing a year-on-year gain of over 3% to 7.2 million.

In March 2010 the number was actually up by 11.4% to 2.9 million passengers – the best March result in the history of the airport. The strong traffic trend is even more remarkable against the backdrop of the thousands of flights cancelled at Munich Airport in January and February due to bad weather conditions and strikes.

The growth in passenger numbers at Munich Airport was particularly strong in the long-haul segment, which posted an 11% gain in the first quarter. Traffic on European routes also showed a pleasing trend, with a rise of more than 4%, while slight declines were seen in traffic within Germany. In absolute terms the biggest increases were seen on connections to the UK, followed by flights to the United Arab Emirates, the USA, Italy and Turkey.

The number of take-offs and landings has so far remained below the previous year's level: During the first quarter, the number of flights handled at Munich Airport was 5.7% lower than a year earlier. This is mainly due to the fact that the airlines are using larger aircraft on their Munich routes this year. This is partly still a reflection of the capacity adjustments made by airlines in response to the economic crisis. Another factor, however, is the airlines' increased use of larger aircraft particularly in peak traffic periods because no slots are available for additional take-offs and landings during those times.

Global freight traffic is also showing a noticeable upward trend. Munich Airport handled almost 58,000 tons of flown airfreight and airmail in the three months of the year – an increase of 25% as compared with the same period last year.

See recent travel news from: Travel News Asia, Munich Airport, Munich, March 2010