A total of 122,7 million passengers were counted in Germany in the first nine months of the year. This corresponds to passenger growth of 149,9 percent compared to the previous year. However, 2019 percent are still missing from the pre-crisis level of 36,1.

At +136,1 percent, domestic German traffic is above the previous year's volume, but at -61,8 percent below the pre-crisis level. European traffic increased by +139,6 percent compared to the previous year and is therefore a stable growth driver in traffic development. Intercontinental traffic grows by +224,3 percent. The different handling of the Covid policy justified the demand developments in the intercontinental markets and prevented significant catch-up effects, since international markets such as Asia are not yet fully accessible again. Commercial flight movements are maintaining the growth trend at +69,4 percent compared to 2021.

The recovery in passenger numbers in Germany is therefore much weaker than in the major European air traffic markets: In Germany, 25 percent of travelers are missing compared to the pre-crisis level, in all of Europe it is only -12 percent. Portugal (-5,8 percent), Spain (-7,4 percent) and Italy (-8,5 percent) are already close to the pre-crisis level. Greece with +4,5 percent even recorded passenger growth again, as reported by the airport association ADV in a press release. For 2022 as a whole, the airport association’s traffic experts expect around 165 million passengers. This corresponds to a traffic level of 66 percent compared to 2019.

Delivery bottlenecks hinder air freight development

Due to the weakened global economy, the development of air freight was subdued. In the first three quarters, air freight handled fell by -4,5 percent to around 3,78 million tons compared to the same period last year. From the point of view of the ADV traffic experts, the global economic impulses that promote the volume of cargo are missing. The Russia-Ukraine war with the airspace closures over Russia for German and EU carriers and the important freight markets in China, which are still severely restricted due to corona, are pushing the overall result down. The difficult overall economic situation with the great uncertainties is putting a strain on the global supply chains.