Frankfurt Airport has not yet completely overcome the corona lull, but is making big plans. Terminal 3, which was further built during the pandemic, comes at the right time.
According to the operator Fraport, Frankfurt Airport has strong growth opportunities in the medium term. For the expected development of air traffic, there are few other locations in Germany with expansion plans or unused reserves, said Fraport boss Stefan Schulte on Tuesday evening after visiting the construction site at the new passenger terminal 3, which was further built during the corona pandemic. Schulte referred to estimates by Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) that air traffic would grow by 67 percent by 2051.
According to Schulte, Terminal 3, which costs around four billion euros, is to be opened at the beginning of 2026 and is already attracting great interest from airlines who are interested in moving from other parts of the airport. “This shows that we are strategically on the right track with Terminal 3,” said Schulte. The airport boss did not name any specific tenants. However, it is not just about airlines that have so far been based in Terminal 2, which is to be completely closed and renovated from 2026.
There is significant spare capacity
The modern equipment of the new terminal is also an incentive for the existing terminal buildings in the north of the airport, said Schulte. Major renovations are also pending at Terminal 1, which is mainly used by the main customer Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners. After more than 30 years, Terminal 2 is due for a complete renovation, including the technical systems.
With its four-lane system, Frankfurt Airport still has considerable capacity reserves. According to the planning approval decision, more than 700,000 flight movements are permitted each year. In the previous record year of 2019, there were 514,000 take-offs and landings with 70.6 million passengers. Opponents, on the other hand, want to enforce a lower upper limit because of aircraft noise.
Germany’s largest airport is currently handling just over 80 percent of the pre-crisis level of passengers. For the year as a whole, Fraport expects a range of between 80 and 90 percent, i.e. 56.5 to 63.5 million passengers. Terminal 3 will initially be able to handle around 19 million passengers a year. A further expansion to a capacity of 25 million is possible.
Source: Stern
