Category Archives: Munich

Munich Airport sees clear upward trend in first half of year


Foto: Stephan Goerlich / FMG

Munich Airport issued this statement:

The dynamic upward trend at Munich Airport is reflected in the traffic figures for the first half of 2022: With around 13 million passengers, the entire annual volume for 2021 has already been exceeded in the first six months. Passenger numbers increased more than fivefold compared to the first six months of the previous year. The steep upward trend can be seen when comparing the two quarters: After only around four million passengers in the first quarter of 2022, more than twice as many passengers were handled in the second quarter at around nine million. In June, Munich Airport already reached three-quarters of its volume from the same month of the record year 2019 again. The seat load factor in Munich in June was at a record level of 84%.

Airlines responded to the high demand for flights by significantly expanding their flight capacity from Munich: Whereas only around 40,000 aircraft movements were registered in the first half of 2021, there were over 129,000 take-offs and landings in the first six months of this year – more than three times as many. In addition, considerably more destinations are now available to passengers in Munich again: Whereas last year around 100 destinations worldwide could be reached from Munich, this summer there will be up to 200 destinations. Freight business at the airport also benefited from the increasing air traffic in Munich, with the total freight volume doubling year-on-year to around 127,000 metric tons.

Traffic at Munich Airport increases significantly in summer months

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.”

Over 170 destinations are being served nonstop again from Munich Airport

Munich Airport has made this announcement:

Airlines are gradually increasing the number of flights offered at Munich Airport, which had been reduced as a result of the Corona crisis.The number of destinations served regularly from Munich has now risen to over 170. This represents around 80 percent of the destinations that were on the flight schedule in 2019, the year before the crisis.

Since this week, travelers from the Bavarian capital can now fly nonstop to Toronto again with Air Canada. As Germans are now also allowed to enter Canada again, the demand has increased accordingly. In addition to Air Canada’s three weekly flights to Toronto, passengers can also travel to Canada on Lufthansa’s five weekly flights from Munich to Vancouver.

Since January 2021, Singapore Airlines has been serving the Bavarian capital again. Now the airline increases the number of its flights from Munich to Singapore from three to five weekly frequencies. These two additional VTL (vaccinated travel lane) frequencies allow German fully vaccinated passengers to enter Singapore without quarantine, provided they have been within Germany for the last 21 days prior to departure and hold a negative PCR test. Travelers must also undergo a PCR test both on arrival and after three days in Singapore.

From October 1, Lufthansa will be flying to Dubai three times a week using the modern Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft. Likewise in October, Emirates will increase its service on the same route from seven to nine weekly flights.

As from next week, Lufthansa is boosting its flight offerings within Europe significantly: The “crane airline” will be operating around 100 more flights per week to a total of 20 European destinations. Among others, the major cities of Amsterdam, Budapest, Copenhagen, Milan, Paris, Rome, Stockholm and Vienna will be served more frequently. In addition, connections to Birmingham, Basel, Leipzig, Luxembourg, Paderborn and Stuttgart will be resumed.

EasyJet is also contributing to the expansion of the European route network from Munich. The British carrier is now flying again to London-Gatwick (four times a week) and Milan-Malpensa (three times a week). In addition, the airline plans to resume further connections to the United Kingdom in the coming months.

Arrivals and departures are meanwhile being handled again via both terminals at Munich Airport. Masks are still required in the check-in buildings at Munich Airport. I