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

In a statement, it noted that in May 2021 it saw a 27.2% increase in volumes to 204,233 metric tons (up 10% over May 2019) with 16,977 takeoffs and landings, aircraft movements climbed 118.7% compared to May 2020.

It noted that accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) also rose by 66.2% year on year to 1.29 million metric tons. 

Meanwhile, the gateway noted that despite the ongoing and widespread impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, aviation traffic is beginning to recover. It said in May 2021, Frankfurt Airport welcomed 1.25 million passengers, showing a 356.9% year-on-year increase over May 2020.

However, it said that this is compared with a low base value for the previous year, when a surge in infections brought aviation to a virtual standstill. In the first five months of 2021, FRA served a total of more than 4.7 million passengers.

Fraport Group airports around the world saw passenger traffic develop positively, it added – all recording a significant increase, in some cases of several hundred percent – albeit compared with sharply reduced air traffic in May 2020.

Nonetheless, when contrasted with pre-pandemic figures for May 2019, Fraport Group airports witnessed a significant decline in passenger numbers.