Munich Airport in Germany achieved the best financial result in its history in 2017, with consolidated earnings after taxes of €155m (US$191m). The group achieved a year-on-year increase of €100m (US$123m) in annual revenues to around €1.5bn (US$1.9bn), thanks largely to a 5.5% rise in annual passenger numbers to 44.6 million.
Dr Michael Kerkloh, president and CEO of Munich Airport, said, “This ensures that Munich Airport will be able to make the necessary investments to handle its future tasks with its own financial resources. All the signs point to a continuation of our very satisfactory performance, so that we fully expect to report earnings at around the same level for 2018.”
With five Lufthansa Airbus A380 aircraft now stationed in Munich, the Bavarian hub has become just the fourth European airport – after London, Paris and Frankfurt – to serve as a home base for the world’s largest passenger aircraft. Lufthansa will operate daily services to Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Beijing with the superjumbo.
In addition, Lufthansa is upgrading its fleet with modern Airbus A350 long-haul jets. The airline already has eight of these wide-body jets in service, with another seven to follow.
“The new long-haul services have greatly strengthened our airport’s global network,” added Kerkloh. “Munich is becoming more and more attractive as a springboard for travel to other continents.”
Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings is also helping to maintain momentum by offering scheduled services from Munich to 15 intercontinental destinations, including Cancún, Fort Myers, Mauritius, Montego Bay and Las Vegas.