Hamburg Airport was used by around 2022 million passengers in 11,1. Although the North German airport had significantly more travelers than in 2021, it was still 36 percent below the pre-crisis volume. Nevertheless, one is convinced that the recovery has started.

In 2019, 17,3 million passengers flew to/from Hamburg. The year 2020 brought a significant slump due to the corona pandemic. You couldn't really recover from this in 2021 either, because back then there were 5,3 million travelers. With 11,1 million passengers, the number has more than doubled, but most recently it was still around 36 percent below the value that could be achieved before the corona crisis.

Passenger numbers stagnated at a low level until around Easter 2022. Then there was a gradual increase. Hamburg had around 2922 passengers in March 682.000 and in July 2022 there were already 1,22 million passengers. The strongest single month so far was October 2022, which saw 1,23 million travelers. The busiest day with almost 50.000 passengers and the busiest week since Corona was registered during the autumn holidays.

With around 91.760 take-offs and landings, the total number of flight movements in 2022 increased by around 71 percent compared to the previous year (2021: around 69.500 take-offs and landings; 2019: around 155.200 take-offs and landings). The number of passengers per flight averaged 2022 guests in 121, compared to 100 in the previous year (2021) and 124 before the pandemic (2019). Compared to the previous year, 2021, the utilization of aircraft at Hamburg Airport increased by 10 percentage points to 76 percent (2021: 66 percent; 2019: 77,5 percent). The average number of seats per flight grew from 152 (2021) to 160, in 2019 it was 159.

The most recent price increases have not exactly had a positive effect either, but Hamburg Airport reports that the booking situation should continue to be stable. Slight growth is expected for the first few months of the current year. It is also assumed that additional flights will be added.

“The industry has a great interest in things being more reliable and predictable again next summer. We will have to win back passengers' trust and prove that flying is comfortable. We are exposed to difficult conditions because the uncertainties that Corona has brought with it have remained. The war in Ukraine and the energy supply are also unpredictable and make planning difficult. Added to this is the extremely tense situation on the job market,” says Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO at Hamburg Airport.

Airport expects 13,8 million passengers in 2023

It is currently expected that in 2023 there will be around 13,8 million passengers, around 80 percent of the volume of 2019. Compared to 2022, that would be an increase of 24,4 percent. The positive development can also be seen in the flight schedule of the airlines: eight airlines have already added nine new destinations to their program for summer 2023, including Graz (flown by Eurowings) and Kutaisi (flown by Wizz Air), destinations that have never been served before were flown to non-stop from Hamburg Airport. In addition, attractive connections to Geneva (Swiss) and Bilbao (Vueling), for example, will be resumed. Frequencies are also being successively expanded, so that passengers can reach the most important holiday and business destinations throughout Europe even faster and more reliably.

“The traffic figures for the past year allow me to look to the future with confidence. The booking situation for the next season is already very good, people want to travel by plane - despite the high inflation. This development is also reflected in the route network of the airlines. Completely new routes make the offer from Hamburg even more diverse, and popular connections are also returning,” says Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO at Hamburg Airport.