Leipzig/Halle scored new cargo handling record while Dresden was stunted by Germania effect

January 24, 2020: The passenger traffic volume at the two central German airports – Dresden and Leipzig/Halle – was about 4.2 million, in 2019, with Leipzig/Halle airport recorded second-highest passenger volume in its history along with a new cargo record. Dresden on the other hand faced a loss of the charter airline Germania, dropping the overall passenger numbers at the two Mitteldeutsche Flughäfen airports by 2.7 percent on the previous year.

Cargo handling at the Leipzig/Halle airport rose for the fifteenth consecutive time to around 1.24 million tonnes against the fallen aircraft movements at both airports, which numbered at 107,563 take-offs and landing – down by 1.8 percent, kicking against the national trend.

Leipzig/Halle Airport
With Air Cargo volume increased to 1,238,343 tonnes in 2019, Leipzig/Halle Airport scored a handling record for the 15th consecutive time and recorded a year-on-year growth of 1.4 percent.
New flight services such as the twice-weekly Wizz Air service to Kiev (Kyiv) and increase in tourist traffic, owning to destinations in Tunisia, Spain and Turkey, upped year on year volumes by 1.9 percent at the Leipzig/Halle Airport. On the contrary, the airport saw a drop of 0.3 percent in its aircraft movements, with 78,980 take-offs and landings.

Dresden Airport
Due to the Germania effect, the passenger volume at the Dresden airport went 9.3 percent down on the previous year. Germania was flying one in five passengers at the airport in 2018. However, gaps in services to popular holiday destinations were immediately bridged by airlines such as Sundair, Corendon Airlines and Lauda. Passenger numbers for Palma de Mallorca, Hurghada and the Greek islands were up compared with last year, and scheduled and low-cost services saw considerable growth in passenger numbers in 2019. With 28,583 take-offs and landings, aircraft movements were 5.6 percent down on last year.