Hamburg Airport reflects positively on 2016 result

Hamburg Airport today took stock of 2016 and the view was positive. With a good commercial result, increasing passenger numbers and an optimised service palette, Hamburg Airport confirmed its role as an important economic factor and employer for Hamburg and the metropolitan region. A diverse route network allows Hamburg Airport to connect the city’s residents with the whole world.

“2016 was a successful year for Hamburg Airport with a strong commercial performance,” explains Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport. “Our networked, globalised society has a growing desire for mobility, and this is a trend that we feel very clearly in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region. With air traffic operations becoming more and more efficient, the growing passenger volume was catered for with a stable number of aircraft movements. Hamburg Airport is and remains the airport for the whole of northern Germany.”

Positive commercial result

Hamburg Airport finished the 2016 financial year positively. The airport achieved a good result amounting to 48.1 million euros. The figure for 2015 was 46.0 million euros. Group turnover was 296.0 million euros, up from 286.1 million euros in 2015. The airport’s investment volume in 2016 amounted to 100.8 million euros (2015: 50.7 million euros). The largest investment projects were the first phase of the comprehensive renewal of Apron 1, and the completion of the new Air Cargo Center. These investments result in a 9.4 percent increase in the balance sheet total to 548.1 million euros (2015: 500.8 million euros).

Passengers from Hamburg drive growth

16.22 million passengers used Hamburg Airport in 2016. This was around 3.9 percent more than in 2015. Passengers from Hamburg itself made the strongest contribution to this growth: in 2016, Hamburg Airport recorded around 750.000 more passengers from the city as in the previous year. 61 percent of passengers whose journey began in Hamburg live in the city. One in four passengers came from Schleswig-Holstein. Aircraft movements, totalling 160,642 in 2016, were lower than in the year 2000, when just under 10 million passengers used Hamburg Airport. Compared to 2015, the number of aircraft movements rose by around 1.4 percent in 2016.

Part of family life: flying more often

The increase in passenger numbers shows that residents of the Hamburg Metropolitan Region are travelling more and more frequently by plane. In 2016, one in five passengers at Hamburg Airport was travelling to visit friends and relatives – a growing segment. And people are travelling more frequently. Whereas in the past there was often just one big holiday each year, the trend now is to additional short trips. In 2016, the share of passengers undertaking between three and five air journeys per year rose by 9.7 percentage points to 38.2 percent. At the same time, Hamburg Airport’s passengers are getting younger: the average age went down from 44.6 years in 2015 to 43.4 years in 2016.

14 completely new destinations in 2017 summer timetable
A total of 14 completely new routes are extending Hamburg’s route network beginning with the 2017 summer season. Southern European destinations in Italy, Spain and Greece are particularly in fashion. New to the Hamburg timetable are routes to Verona, Lamezia Terme, Venice Treviso and Bologna. There are also new services to the Spanish destinations of Valencia and Almería. Other new sun destinations include Bordeaux, Malta and Larnaca. Katowice, Liverpool, Cluj-Napoca, Tallinn and Elazig are also new to Hamburg’s route network. In addition to these completely new destinations, the choice for passengers is growing on 15 routes as additional airlines add services to popular destinations. There are additional connections to Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Kos, Faro, Ankara, Adana, Fuerteventura, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Crete, Palma de Mallorca, Menorca, Jerez de la Frontera, Hurghada and Varna.

Hamburg Airport Cargo Center sees freight take off

Flown air freight rose by 12.8 percent to around 35,284 tonnes, whilst air freight shipped by road declined by 41.6 percent to 30,259 tonnes. The reasons for the strong result in flown air freight lie with the positive development of cargo on the Hamburg-Dubai route, operated by Emirates, and the Hamburg-New York Newark route, operated by United Airlines. Lufthansa Cargo’s road freight returned to Hamburg Airport when the new Hamburg Airport Cargo Center opened in the second quarter of 2016.

Outlook for 2017: positive trends to continue

For 2017, Michael Eggenschwiler expects growth in passenger numbers of around 3 percent. “We expect a stable year in 2017 with moderate growth. The coming months will once again show that the aviation industry is a markedly dynamic market. One thing is clear: Hamburg Airport never stands still, because flying has become part of our family life. And even at the ripe age of 106, we remain fresh and innovative. Our investments in the Apron and the terminals are examples of how we build our infrastructure around the desires of our passengers. Hamburg Airport will keep on developing, step by step, as it has done to date.”

Since the start of the year, the airport has been offering passengers 24 hours of free WLAN access. The new “Passngr” service app is the ideal addition to the digital portfolio. In March 2017, two flexible and comfortable double jetbridges will enter operation, improving service for larger aircraft. April 2017 will also see work commence on the construction of the new “Hamburg Welcome Center” at the airport. This service center, a close cooperation with Hamburg Marketing, combines shop elements with tourist information. Visitors arriving in the city can come here for all the information they need about Hamburg and the region. They will also be able to make purchases such as public transport tickets, admission tickets and souvenirs. More Hamburg moments for passengers are being created on the Passenger Pier, with the modernisation of waiting areas at the gates, characterised by typical Hanseatic themes and motifs, continuing. More modernised gates are due to enter into service in the first half of 2017.