Munich airport has seen its traffic recover to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in recent weeks, particularly over this month’s Easter holidays.
The airport in southern Germany said it expected to see a “significant increase in aircraft movements and passengers” throughout 2022.
Munich airport CEO Jost Lammers added that they now estimated passenger numbers would return to pre-Covid levels in 2024.
Long-haul services from Munich have been boosted by United Airlines’ expansion of transatlantic flights including a new route to Denver and the resumption of flights to Houston after a two-year absence.
United now operates six flights per day to the US from Munich, which is above pre-Covid levels, including routes to Chicago, Washington DC, Newark and San Francisco.
The airport’s financial results for 2021 continued to be “heavily influenced by the pandemic”, with revenue of €601 million only up slightly on 2020, and an annual loss of €261 million, which was an improvement of €60 million on the previous year’s loss.
Chief financial officer Nathalie Leroy, who is also director of infrastructure, said the airport had made efforts to limit its losses and “permanently maintain its liquidity and future viability” during the pandemic.
Leroy added: “We are therefore well equipped for the challenges we are facing to re-establish our Munich airport as a premium hub for international aviation.”