Frankfurt Airport (FRA) reported a cargo decline in November even as its passenger numbers continued to recover as the overall economic slowdown and persisting war between Russia and Ukraine was bad news for the air freight sector.  

Germany's largest aviation hub said cargo volumes in Frankfurt continued to decline by 14.5% year-on-year in November.

Cargo volumes at FRA) Europe's busiest cargo airport, saw a 12.9% year-on-year drop in the first nine months of 2022 as market challenges continued to drag demand.

"Again, this decrease was primarily caused by the overall economic slowdown and the airspace restrictions related to the war in Ukraine," FRA said in a statement.

In contrast, FRA's aircraft movements climbed by 12.7% year-on-year to 32,544 takeoffs and landings in the reporting month.

Accumulated maximum takeoff weights (MTOWs) also grew by 11.4% year-on-year to around 2.0 million metric tons.  

Meanwhile, for November, FRA welcomed some 4.1 million passengers or an increase of 41.2% year-on-year. Compared to pre-pandemic November 2019, FRA's passenger numbers were still down by 19.2% in the reporting month.

Despite the dropping cargo numbers, FRA earlier signalled that full-year performance will reach the upper range of its forecasts.

"In view of the positive trend during the first nine months of 2022 and the stable outlook for the fourth quarter, Fraport expects to reach the upper range of the forecast, as adjusted in the interim report on the first half," FRA said

It said EBITDA is projected to reach between about €850 million and €970 million, while EBIT is expected to be in the range from approximately €400 million to €520 million.