Frankfurt Airport (FRA) expects to record another growth this year after a positive performance in 2021 which pushed the Group back to the positive territory after being in the negative in 2019.

Europe's largest cargo airport said for 2022 it expects traffic at Frankfurt Airport to range between approximately 39 million and 46 million – equaling 55% to 65% of the pre-crisis 2019 passenger level.

Meanwhile, group revenue is projected to reach about €3 billion (US$3.33 billion) with Group EBIT forecast to rise to between €320 million and €440 million. The Group's net profit is also expected to reach between €50 million and €150 million.

"The current geopolitical situation has already been factored into this outlook to the extent now possible, given all the uncertainty," the German hub said.

The outlook comes as the Group's net profit moved clearly back into positive territory, reaching €91.8 million (US$101.97 million) at year-end 2021 after registering minus €690.4 million (US$766.89 million) in 2019.

Last year, cargo throughput — comprising airfreight and airmail — at Frankfurt continued to grow despite the lack of belly capacity on passenger aircraft and even hit a new record for cargo traffic in the past fiscal year.

"We have used the past year to further increase our competitiveness, thus strengthening Fraport's position for future growth. We have realigned our company by implementing strict cost management and, where necessary, adopting immediate personnel-reduction measures – in response to noticeably lower traffic volumes now," said Fraport AG’s CEO, Dr. Stefan Schulte, adding that Fraport has become a "leaner and more efficient company than before the pandemic."

"A look at the current flight bookings situation gives cause for optimism. The booking figures clearly underscore that people are eager to travel again. For this reason, we are now focusing on ramping up operations," he said, noting that the Group is also intensifying its climate goals with the aim to become carbon-free by 2045.

Fraport accelerates sustainability goals

Despite the ongoing business challenges in the second pandemic year, Fraport noted that it has committed to becoming carbon-free at all of its locations across the Group by 2045 —  with commitment comprising an extensive package of measures to be adopted at the Group’s home-base Frankfurt Airport, but also serving as a guideline for Fraport’s Group airports worldwide.

The airport operator said its climate package explicitly excludes measures that merely offset carbon. 

"In Frankfurt, Fraport has been purchasing electricity from existing onshore wind turbines since July 2021," it said, noting that it signed a deal with energy provider EnBW to supply some 85 megawatts of electricity per year to Frankfurt Airport from an offshore wind park, starting in 2026.

Other Fraport measures include increasing the use of photovoltaic arrays for generating electricity, switching incrementally to renewables to power the vehicle fleet, as well as a number of other improvements to enhance energy efficiency.