16 in 16 Hamburg Airport passes 16 million passengers for first time
Desire for mobility growing in northern Germany
Hamburg Airport welcomed its 16-millionth passenger today. This is the first time in the airport’s 105-year history that it has surpassed the 16 million passenger mark. The 16-millionth passenger was Julia Erkes-Barialai from Hamburg, travelling with her husband Roshan and her daughters Lina (4 years) and Frida (2 years) to Naples with easyJet. Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport, and Alexandra Stoepfer, Head of Station for easyJet at Hamburg Airport, were on hand this afternoon to welcome the jubilee passenger.
Michael Eggenschwiler is very pleased with the increase of around 3.3% in passenger numbers for 2016, commenting that “We were only able to achieve this positive result on the basis of the trusting, cooperative partnership we have with the airlines. The passenger figures show that the need for mobility in Hamburg and throughout northern Germany is continuing to grow. With the stable development of traffic figures, Hamburg Airport remains a driving force for growth and an important employer in Hamburg and the Metropolitan Region.”
easyJet: Serving 33 European destinations from Hamburg
Hamburg Airport’s partnership with easyJet stretches back eleven years now. The airline’s first flight from Hamburg Airport was to Basel on 11 August, 2005. In the spring of 2014, the airline opened a base in Hamburg, initially stationing two aircraft in the city. As early as November 2014, a third aircraft was added. By the end of 2016, easyJet will have carried around 6,650,000 passengers to and from Hamburg on board approx. 50,150 flights. Based on current forecasts, easyJet will see a total of more than 1.5 million passengers to and from Hamburg on almost 11,000 flights in 2016 alone. In terms of passenger figures, this places easyJet in fourth place amongst the airlines serving Hamburg Airport.
easyJet is further extending its route network from Hamburg Airport with the summer 2017 timetable, adding three new routes to Bordeaux in France, Valencia in Spain, and the Greek island of Rhodes. The airline is also increasing the frequency of its flights to Manchester, Edinburgh, Zürich and Palma de Mallorca.
“With these new destinations, we will be offering 33 diverse routes from Hamburg in the 2017 summer timetable,” says Thomas Haagensen, Managing Director of easyJet Germany. “Customers will have a choice of a wide variety of seaside destinations, city trip, and flights to Europe’s most important commercial centres. We have something to suit for every taste. We are the only airline, for example, to offer flights from Hamburg to Bordeaux.”
Consistent growth in passenger figures
The 14-million passenger mark was first surpassed in 2014, and one year later, in 2015, the airport welcomed 15 million passengers in one year for the first time. According to current forecasts, the passenger volume for 2016 will reach approximately 16.12 million by year’s end. In comparison to 2015, then, Hamburg Airport will report passenger growth of around 3.3 percent. On 14 October, 2016, Hamburg Airport recorded around 65,000 passengers – the highest number of passengers on a single day since the airport was first opened.
Aircraft movements below the level of 2008
The forecast number of flights for 2016 is around 160,500, below the level seen in 2008. The deployment of larger, more modern, and more efficient aircraft from Hamburg Airport, combined with better load factors, means that passenger numbers and aircraft movements are not directly proportional.