Frankfurt Airport (FRA) said its cargo volumes for June continued to grow despite the ongoing shortage of belly capacity normally provided by passenger aircraft.

In a statement, it noted that last month, cargo throughput (comprising airfreight and airmail) jumped by 30.6% year-on-year to 190,131 metric tons – the second highest volume ever recorded in a June month at FRA.

Compared to pre-pandemic levels in June 2019, it said cargo was already up 9%.

"The growth momentum in cargo traffic at FRA continued despite the ongoing shortage of belly capacity normally provided by passenger aircraft," it said. "This robust growth underscores Frankfurt Airport’s position as Europe’s leading airfreight hub."

The gateway noted that aircraft movements climbed by just over 114% year-on-year to 20,010 takeoffs and landings. Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) rose by 78.9% to about 1.36 million metric tons in June 2021.

Meanwhile, FRA also noted that last month, passenger traffic continued to recover, despite the ongoing and widespread impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It said Frankfurt Airport served some 1.78 million passengers in the reporting month representing an increase of nearly 200% versus June 2020.

However, this figure is based on a low benchmark value recorded in June 2020, when traffic was down amid surging Covid-19 infection rates.

"For the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic, Frankfurt Airport again welcomed more than 80,000 passengers in a single day, recorded on two separate days in June 2021," it said. Compared with pre-pandemic June 2019, FRA registered another noticeable passenger decline of 73% in the reporting month. During the first half of 2021, FRA served some 6.5 million passengers. 

Traffic growth in airports worldwide

The Fraport Group’s airports around the world also recorded noticeable traffic growth in June 2021, it said. At some airports, traffic increased by several hundred percent – albeit based on a sharply reduced traffic level in June 2020.