Balance sheet 2018: Hamburg Airport investing in personnel, digitalisation and infrastructure

Hamburg Airport today presented its balance sheet for the 2018 financial year. The challenges of the summer and the slight decrease in passenger figures shaped the past year. In 2018, the airport was focused on passengers: with optimised infrastructure, modernised security checkpoints and new self-bag drop kiosks, Hamburg Airport invested in even more efficiency and comfort. At the same time, there are even more personnel available on-site to assist passengers.

“2018 was a challenging year for Hamburg Airport. The passion for travel was strong in northern Germany. This only exacerbated the problem of flight cancellations and delays on the part of the airlines. On the other hand, we as an airport did a good job for our 17 million passengers,” says Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport. “To get there, we have invested heavily in passenger comfort, with qualified personnel on-site and with the latest technology bringing genuine added value for passenger.”

Hamburg Airport investing for passengers

Hamburg Airport finished the 2018 financial year positively. The airport achieved a slight increase in revenue, which rose 1.9 percent to 269.4 million euros, attributable to factors including the increased rental income from new operational buildings. Revenue in 2017 was 264.5 million euros.

In 2018, investment for passengers was in focus for Hamburg Airport. The investment volume rose by 9 percent to 96.1 million euros (2017: 88.2 million euros). The airport’s investments here were primarily in personnel, digitalisation and infrastructure. The high level of investment sees the Hamburg Airport balance sheet total rise by 11.1 percent to 666.0 million Euros (2017: 599.4 million euros).

The challenges seen in the summer of 2018 mentioned above, the many cancelled flights and delays in European aviation, led to a decline in passenger numbers at Hamburg Airport. These developments, together with the investments made, influenced the result for 2018. In 2018, the airport achieved a profit of 36.1 million euros, 22.6 percent lower than the previous year’s result of 46.6 million euros.

Official inauguration of ten additional self-bag-drop kiosks

One of the investment projects in 2018 was officially launched today by Michael Eggenschwiler. Ten additional self-bag-drop kiosks went into service in Terminal 1, meaning that passengers can now quickly, conveniently and independently check in their baggage at a total of 20 kiosks. The service is currently available at Hamburg Airport to passengers of Eurowings, Air France, KLM, easyJet and soon also SAS Scandinavian Airlines, with other airlines to follow. A further ten kiosks are due to enter service in Terminal 2 in 2020. What makes Hamburg’s self-service option so special is that the kiosks can be used by various airlines, so that passengers no longer have to look for the counter of their airline or for a specific self-service kiosk. With this system, Hamburg Airport is taking on a vanguard role within the industry.

Two employees of the airport’s Mobile Service Team demonstrated just how simple and self-explanatory the baggage kiosks are to use. The twelve colleagues of the Mobile Service Team have been out and about in the terminals since 2016, answering passenger questions related to the airport. Hamburg Airport uses a combination of the latest technology and people on-site to assist passengers, and the approach has been very well received. In 2018, the Hamburg Airport Group had a total of 2,103 employees. More than 200 jobs have been created over the past three years.

Urge to travel still strong in Hamburg in 2018

After the unexpectedly high growth in 2017, Hamburg Airport saw a consolidation of passenger figures at an ongoing high level in 2018. In 2018, 17.23 million passengers used Hamburg Airport, approx. 2.2 percent less than in 2017. Aircraft movements, totalling 156,388 in 2018, were lower than in the year 2000, when just under 10 million passengers used Hamburg Airport. Compared to 2017, the number of aircraft movements declined by around 2.1 percent.

A glance at the passenger load factor shows just how efficient air travel is becoming. The average number of passengers per flight in 2018 was 123, compared to an average of 121 in 2017. The average number of seats per flight has increased from 156 to 157. The average load factor on flights to and from Hamburg Airport rose by 0.4 percentage points to 78.2 percent in comparison to 2017.

Outlook for 2019: Slight growth expected

“Our focus is on the passenger in 2019, too. Flying must be enjoyable, and every passenger should feel at ease at Hamburg Airport. This is something we take care of every day – with a smile,” says Michael Eggenschwiler. “Air traffic is growing. Sometimes that growth is fast, sometimes it is slow. The people of northern Germany still want to be mobile and to discover the world in 2019. After the slight decline in passenger figures last year, we expect slight growth of 2 to 2.5 percent in 2019.

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