Frankfurt Fraport boss Stefan Schulte does not want to promise passengers too much. Easter and summer will be better than last year. “But there will continue to be waiting times, for example at the beginning of the Easter or summer holidays,” said the head of the airport operator Fraport on Tuesday in Frankfurt. “Things will not run smoothly in all places.” The airport operator expects passenger numbers in Frankfurt to be up to 90 percent of the pre-crisis level this year.
The Fraport experts work together with partners such as the main customer Lufthansa to ensure that processes run as smoothly as possible. In the past year, the sudden onslaught of passengers overwhelmed the system. At times, the number of passengers in Frankfurt had skyrocketed by up to 300 percent. The result was massive flight cancellations and delays.
To ensure that this does not happen again, Fraport has made some adjustments. The company has taken over the management of security checks from the Federal Police. Flight capacities and personnel requirements were poorly coordinated. That always caused long queues. Fraport has now installed seven CT scanners that can be used to check hand luggage more quickly. Even drinks or cosmetics can stay in the bag. A further 24 scanners are to be added. “The throughput is higher, the waiting times are shorter,” said Schulte.
Check-in should also be faster thanks to automation. Fraport has put new so-called hybrid counters into operation. Passengers can check in here themselves and also check in their luggage.
However, the narrow airspace remains a problem. Because of the Ukraine war, some regions are avoided for security reasons, more flights are routed through Germany. “That will remain an issue this year,” said Schulte.
Labor shortages remain the biggest bottleneck
It could also be tight at the gates. Because intercontinental traffic in particular is growing rapidly, the number of transfer passengers is also increasing. At the same time, some gates and apron spaces are missing in Frankfurt due to the construction site at the new Terminal 3. “We sit together with our partners almost every week on this topic to ensure punctual traffic,” said Schulte. That goes down to small but important details such as closing the doors on the plane on time.
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By far the biggest bottleneck is and will remain the labor market for the time being. Fraport is currently looking for numerous employees for so-called ground handling, i.e. supplying the aircraft on the ground. More than 1,000 employees were hired in 2022, and another 1,500 are to follow this year. “But the challenge here is the qualification,” said Schulte.
Fraport needs people with a valid driver’s license who would also need to obtain a special driver’s license for the apron in order to transport freight or luggage on the airport premises. That is not easy, as the labor market has changed significantly as a result of the pandemic. Fraport has expanded its own training capacities. “But that will remain one of the challenges this year.”
The airport operator lacks enough qualified personnel on the ground.
(Photo: IMAGO/STAR MEDIA)
Fraport presented figures for the 2022 fiscal year on Tuesday. The operating result (Ebitda) increased by 36 percent to 1.03 billion euros in 2022 compared to the previous year. The consolidated result even increased by 82 percent to almost 167 million euros. The company thus exceeded its own forecast and the estimates of many analysts. They had expected a net profit of 100 million euros. Sales grew by almost half to 3.2 billion euros.
No dividend for 2022 and 2023
Almost 49 million passengers took off and landed in Frankfurt in 2022 – almost twice as many as in the previous year. However, the number was still 30 percent below 2019, the year before the outbreak of the corona pandemic. Some of the international airports in which Fraport has a stake recovered faster than the Frankfurt hub. The Greek airports stood out: They welcomed around four percent more passengers in 2022 than in 2019 – a new all-time high.
The management expects a range of 300 to 420 million euros for the group result in the current year. The operating profit should be between 1.04 and 1.2 billion euros.
The bad news is for the shareholders of the listed airport operator. Fraport does not intend to pay out a dividend for either 2022 or the current year. The reason: Only when the net financial debt is a maximum of five times higher than the operating result is something paid out to the shareholders again. In 2022, however, this debt value was seven times higher.
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