Nuremberg Airport (Albrecht Dürer) concluded 2025 with a record high, recording its most successful year ever. A total of 4.508.765 passengers were handled, representing an increase of 11,9 percent compared to the previous year.
This significantly exceeded the previous record from 2018. Airport CEO Dr. Michael Hupe attributes this development to a massive demand for mobility in the metropolitan region, encompassing both leisure and business travel. With an average load factor of 83 percent, the average aircraft occupancy remained consistently high, demonstrating that the additional capacity created was fully absorbed by the market.
Growth was distributed across all major segments of flight operations. Scheduled and low-cost carrier traffic increased by 10,8 percent to 2,812 million passengers, while traditional leisure travel saw an even more significant rise of 13,2 percent to 1,631 million passengers. The most popular destinations were Turkey, Spain, and Greece, with Antalya and Mallorca topping the list of most sought-after destinations. Simultaneously, the number of flight movements increased by 8,8 percent to a total of 52.918 takeoffs and landings. Key partners at the airport included airlines such as Ryanair, Wizz Air, Corendon Airlines, and the Lufthansa Group.
Despite positive passenger growth, air freight saw a slight decline. At 4.686 tons, the volume was 2,4 percent lower than the previous year, which market observers attribute to general consolidation in the global logistics sector. Nevertheless, freight handling at Nuremberg Airport remains a stable pillar of regional economic connectivity. A key technological trend at the airport is the increasing modernization of the fleets operated by partner companies. The share of modern and quieter aircraft types in commercial movements rose to approximately 30 percent in 2025, leading to a reduction in noise pollution in the airport's surroundings.
Analyses of the Bavarian air transport market confirm that Nuremberg has consolidated its position as the second most important airport in the state. Additional investments in terminal infrastructure and digital passenger handling have contributed to increasing its attractiveness for both airlines and travelers. For 2026, the airport company plans to further optimize its flight offerings, particularly by expanding connections to Eastern European hubs and increasing frequencies to key business destinations. Furthermore, robust demand for visits to friends and relatives remains a stable growth driver for the airport.