Fraport AG calls for Terminal 3 as studies support traffic forecasts

By Charlotte Turner |

Studies by two independent institutes forecast that passenger volumes at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) will rise to between 68m and 73m passengers by the year 2021. If the forecasts are correct the airport’s current terminal capacity of 64m passengers per year will be exceeded by 2021.

 

Fraport AG Executive Board Chairman Dr Stefan Schulte said: “Society’s need for mobility continues to grow – and thus the number of people choosing to travel by airplane. Both of the independent expert studies – which validate our existing internal capacity planning – clearly show that the construction of Terminal 3 (impression shown right) is urgently needed.

 

“Only with Terminal 3 will we be able to continue offering our customers the quality and service that they rightly expect from a leading international airport like Frankfurt. Residents and businesses in our region should also be able to expect this.”

 

The analyses from Intraplan and MKmetric apparently confirm the findings of internal assessments carried out by Fraport AG. MKmetric institute expects that passenger traffic will rise to 68.2m by 2021 and might reach 75.7m by 2025.

 

Intraplan’s forecasts indicate that passenger figures will rise to 72.9m, or 78m, for the same years respectively. “The analyses of the two institutes are confirmed by the long-term traffic forecast of the German Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, according to which air passenger figures in Germany will rise by 2.5% annually until the year 2030,” says Fraport.

 

In another study commissioned by Fraport AG, the consulting firm NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants) concludes that additional terminal capacity will be required to ensure smooth operations at Frankfurt Airport, once passenger numbers have reached the 64m mark. Passenger volumes of up to 68m and more – as forecast by the Institutes for the year 2021 – would have a massive impact on airport operations and thus impair the overall quality and competitiveness of Frankfurt Airport.

 

At times, FRA says it is already reaching capacity limits for check-in facilities at peak traffic periods during the summer holidays. This situation is similar for security, passport and custom control channels. Schulte explained: “Without construction of a third terminal, increasing numbers of large aircraft – which primarily serve intercontinental routes – will have to be handled at remote parking positions away from the terminals.

 

“This is contrary to German as well as European quality standards. Consequently, aircraft congestion and waiting times on the taxiways would reach unacceptable levels,” says Fraport.

 

“Inaugurating Terminal 3 only in 2021 already means that we will have to temporarily accept reductions in service quality,” said Schulte. “If passengers and staff have to endure this, then it should only be for a short period.”

Regarding the next steps to be taken, Schulte added: “Fraport has verified the capacity requirements of Terminal 3 in a well-founded and comprehensive manner. We have made all of this documentation available to the Hesse state government. We look forward to having discussions on the results at any time.”

 

Fraport AG estimates construction costs for the new Terminal 3 – including all ancillary infrastructure measures such as access roads and parking lots – to range between €2.5bn and €3bn

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