Munich Airport has reached an important milestone in the recovery of its traffic after the Covid-19 pandemic: for the first time, the number of passengers exceeded 40 million again.
This 40 millionth passenger is Christine Valair, who arrived yesterday, Monday, with her family from Vancouver on Lufthansa flight LH477, an Airbus A350 named «Munich». Munich Airport CEO Jost Lammers and Oliver Dersch, Senior Vice President Aviation at Munich Airport, greeted the family upon their arrival at the gate in Terminal 2 and presented them with a flight voucher and a shopping and parking voucher for their next flight as a pre-Christmas surprise.
Jost Lammers: «I am very pleased that we have exceeded the 40 million mark in the number of passengers this year in the aftermath of the pandemic. This shows that people want to travel, and it underscores the importance of our air traffic hub for the people and companies in Bavaria and far beyond».
In 2019, the airport welcomed around 48 million travelers. In terms of passenger numbers, Munich Airport has now reached 87 percent of its pre-crisis level. An important factor in the airport’s positive development is transfer traffic: the share of transfer passengers was 42 percent in 2019, an increase of four percent over the previous year. The high proportion of foreign passengers (51 percent) underlines the importance of the Bavarian hub for global air traffic. The top five countries of origin are Germany, the United States, Austria, Italy and the United Kingdom.
Private travel in particular is booming and has already reached 98 percent of the level it was at before the crisis. According to a recent survey, around three quarters of passengers are currently on private trips, of which 51% are on holiday and leisure trips, 22% on private visits and 2% on a combination of private and business trips. Business travel, at 64% of pre-crisis levels, accounts for about one-quarter of passengers.
The press photo below shows from left to right: Oliver Dersch (SVP Aviation Munich Airport), Lufthansa Cabin Manager Sandra Hille, Finn Valair (5 years old), Lufthansa Flight Captain Rolf Christoph Schwarz, Christine Valair (40 millionth passenger at Munich Airport in 2024), her husband Jeff Valair and Jost Lammers (CEO Munich Airport).
