It was a record year at Germany’s Frankfurt Airport in 2011.
The airport –Europe’s third-busiest and a hub for German carrier Lufthansa – handled 56.44 million passengers last year, up 6.5% from 2010.
The Associated Press notes the record 2011 came after the airport inaugurated “a long-awaited fourth runway. It also was the second consecutive year of strong growth in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy.”
“The inauguration of Frankfurt Airport new runway had a very positive effect on traffic development,” said Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte is quoted as saying by Expatica.com.
However, AP says “the picture for air freight was less rosy amid economic troubles elsewhere. (Airport operator) Fraport says Frankfurt handled 2.8% less freight in 2011 — with the total volume slipping to 2.39 million U.S. tons (2.17 million metric tons) from 2.46 million U.S. tons (2.23 million metric tons).”
London Heathrow is Europe’s busiest airport while Paris Charles de Gaulle is No. 2.
PRESS RELEASE: Frankfurt Airport 2011 full year figures