Hamburg airport increased passenger traffic by 22 per cent in 2023 to reach a total number of 13.6 million in its first full year without any Covid-19 travel restrictions.
The northern Germany airport said it had been boosted by a record-breaking October, although its traffic still only reached 78 per cent of 2019 levels when it catered for 17.3 million passengers. Business travellers account for just over 20 per cent of its passenger numbers.
Hamburg, which will benefit from a new Qatar Airways route to Doha starting this summer, expects passenger numbers to “climb gently” during 2024 with a forecast increase of 5 per cent compared with last year to reach 14.3 million.
Christian Kunsch, CEO of Hamburg airport, added: “The development of the traffic figures gives me great confidence for the future. We also expect growth in 2024. The situation continues to improve.
“I am especially thrilled by the fact that we already offer passengers a similar route network to what we had in 2019.”