Graz Airport: Traffic Result 2009!

Despite the economic crisis, it was possible to keep passenger numbers at the level of 2007.


Feldkirchen, 11 Jan. 2010: The economic crisis did not spare Graz Airport either. And yet, international comparison shows that a drop in passenger numbers by 5.9% is actually a good result.
“In international comparison, Graz Airport showed once again a very good performance in 2009, despite the difficulties”, says Wolfgang Messner, member of the Board of GRAZ AG. According to Messner this was possible “thanks to the innovative and future-oriented management over the past few years that ensured an expansion of the destinations offered and marketed the airport as a location for business.”
Member of the Board Wolfgang Malik: “Also in times of crisis, Graz Airport is a busy transport hub and – with its non-aviation business – a dynamic economic factor in the south-east of Austria. In its future strategy for Graz Airport, GRAZ AG will aim at opening this “Styrian gate to the world” more widely and at further developing the location for business by implementing targeted measures.”

A closer look at passenger numbers:
The number of passengers of scheduled flights dropped slightly by 2.9%; the minus in charter business is 14.3%.
It must be said however, that the trend of using scheduled flights for holiday trips continued. The six weekly flight connections offered by NIKI from Graz to Palma de Mallorca should be mentioned in this context. The line between scheduled and charter business is becoming more and more blurred.
“In 2009 we were able to achieve the passenger numbers we had in 2007. Against the background of the difficult situation in 2009, this is a good result in international comparison”, says Gerhard Widmann, CEO of Graz Airport.

Drop in cargo volumes:
The decline in cargo volumes – which always reflect the economic situation – was more drastic. Air cargo handled at Graz Airport in 2009 amounted to more than 8,200 tons, which is a drop by 19% compared to the volume of 2008 and in line with international figures.
The development since November 2009 has been promising and we are optimistic for the current year, as the figures are showing a clear recovery trend.
Despite the general decline, some areas still achieved increases in volume. It is also interesting to note that imports suffered much more than exports under the crisis.
While the total volume of cargo transport decreased, the number of deliveries increased in 2009. Air freight customers still appear to prefer air freight delivery for their light-weight consignments, but have changed to alternative routes of transportation for heavier consignments.

Outlook for 2010:
“We are heading into 2010 with guarded optimism“, says Widmann. “While we had to accept a two-digit drop in passenger numbers in the first few months of 2009, numbers have recovered in summer and autumn and even improved compared to the previous year.”
In more concrete terms: From September to December, passenger numbers increased compared to the same period in 2008.
In addition to the positive development in the course of the past few months, the outlook for the coming year, too, gives reason for at least some optimism.
The range of destinations that will be offered in the summer of 2010 will be wide. No changes are expected in the number of flight connections offered by the AUA Group and Lufthansa.
NIKI will continue to fly from Graz to Mallorca 6 times a week in 2010 since flights to the island destination were very popular in 2009, and from the hub of Palma the airline offers connecting onward flights to nearly 20 further destinations.
There will also be some new destinations on the summer flight schedule: From the end of April to September, NIKI will offer direct weekly flights to Shannon, Ireland, together with Blaguss Reisen travel agency.

The figures in comparison:

Volume	2009	2008	Change in %
Overall number of passengers	948.590	1.008.330	-  5,92%
Scheduled flights – passengers	720.851	742.538	-  2,92%
Charter flights – passengers	227.739	265.792	-14,32
Cargo volume in tons	8.230	10.165	-19,04%