"2024 was a good year for Hamburg Airport. North Germans are travelling again. Our expectations have been exceeded," says Christian Kunsch, CEO of Hamburg Airport. Demand for travel within Europe has increased significantly, while demand for business travel has remained stable. During the mid-term break last autumn, 843,000 passengers took to the skies - the strongest wave of travel since the pandemic with more than 60,000 passengers on peak days. The average load factor for commercial flights increased by three percentage points to 81 per cent over the pre-pandemic year of 2019, while it also increased slightly for scheduled and tourist flights. Despite the high load factor, 99 per cent of passengers passed through security in less than 20 minutes. "We have simplified baggage handling at the machines and sped it up by 50 per cent. Thanks to the new hand scanners, it takes less than 50 seconds for a suitcase with a printed baggage tag to be sent on its way," said Kunsch. A third of all travellers now use the self-drop service.
14.83 million passengers and 81 per cent load factor on commercial flights
Average aircraft capacity usage soared to a new high and passenger numbers at Hamburg Airport rose to 14.83 million in 2024, a press release said Monday (January 6, 2025) Air traffic came to 86 per cent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019 in an overall successful year.
Figures at a glance
Investments in comfort
Hamburg Airport plans to invest EUR 5 million in new security systems and upgraded baggage handling technology this year. Additional intelligent gates should improve passenger flow. Infrastructure will also be expanded to meet the demands of growing passenger numbers.. Operations will also become more efficient and comfortable. Summer schedules are being finalised. Last January, some 55 airlines operated direct flights to around 120 destinations from Hamburg Airport.
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