(new: statements from press conference on capacity planning for the summer, personnel development, cooperation with Lufthansa, current share price reaction)

FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Frankfurt Airport is still struggling this summer with long-term problems following the Corona crisis. Although operator Fraport expects a further increase in passenger numbers this year, it warns of impending bottlenecks in airspace and staffing. The 2019 pre-pandemic passenger record of more than 70 million remains out of reach in 2023. However, the MDax group's profit figures are already pointing significantly upwards again, partly due to staff reductions and strong results from foreign airports.

For 2023, Fraport management expects 57 to 63 million passengers at Germany's largest aviation hub, the company announced in Frankfurt on Tuesday. That corresponds to about 80 to 90 percent of the pre-crisis level. Last year, passenger traffic at Frankfurt had nearly doubled to nearly 49 million compared to 2021. However, Frankfurt lagged behind other major airports in Europe in terms of recovery.

The news was received negatively on the stock market. The Fraport share price plummeted by almost seven percent at times in the morning, but recovered for the most part later. In the early afternoon, the share was still down by around 1.75 percent at 48.64 euros, but remained the biggest loser in the MDax, the index of mid-sized stocks. Compared to the turn of the year, the Fraport share still gained more than 27 percent.

The German aviation hub is already entering the upcoming vacation season in 2023 with reduced capacity, which reaches a first peak at Easter. Currently, the maximum number of aircraft movements per hour has been throttled from 104 to 94, as Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte confirmed. The airport, in cooperation with its service providers and air traffic control, does not currently dare to do more.

The capacity will be slowly increased over the course of the summer, so that the original value can be reached again by the end of the summer flight schedule, Schulte announced. The prerequisites for this are improved cooperation between the system partners and further new hires. The Fraport CEO did not say how many flights would be eliminated compared to the original plan. First and foremost, he said, domestic flights had been canceled, and there was a tendency for no connections to overseas or European destinations.

Now, Fraport executives expect about 15 to 25 percent more passengers in Frankfurt this summer than in the same period last year. All process partners were working at full speed to build up resources for this year's travel season, Schulte said. "The clear goal is to have a stable operation that is also more robustly positioned for special situations." The airport chief praised the greatly improved cooperation with Lufthansa, the main customer, and other service providers. The fact that Fraport took over the organization of passenger checks at the beginning of the year has already reduced waiting times, he said.

The manager identified the German airspace, which has to accommodate additional military flights and traffic from Eastern Europe as a result of the Ukraine war, as the tightest bottleneck. In addition, the two-week NATO maneuver "Air Defender" is planned for June, which will lead to repeated airspace closures. Nevertheless, Schulte explained, "It will be better than in 2022."

According to CFO Matthias Zieschang, Fraport saved nearly €170 million in personnel expenses last year because about 4,000 fewer employees were on board than in 2019. Fraport has been counteracting this for some time in aircraft ground handling services, so that in August as many personnel should be ready for deployment there as before the crisis. By the end of this year, however, Fraport still wants to cope with a crew reduced by at least 3,000 people compared to 2019. Particularly in administration, jobs could be permanently eliminated, the finance chief said.

Fraport CEO Schulte emphasized the difficulties of finding new people for the heavy shift work at full employment. The company is currently recruiting in Spain, Greece and southeastern Europe, he said. In the planned immigration law for people from outside the EU, the restriction to six months of work must be dropped. Otherwise, he said, the law would become a "pipe bursting failure." "People want to have a permanent perspective. And we are ready to give them a permanent perspective."

Fraport's business figures clearly showed the recovery of travel in 2022, despite all the difficulties. Revenue, for example, rose by almost half year-on-year to nearly 3.2 billion euros. Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) increased by 36 percent to 1.03 billion euros. The bottom line was a profit for shareholders of a good 132 million euros, around 60 percent more than in the previous year. However, due to the high level of debt, they are to forego a dividend for 2022 and 2023.

Fraport partially offset a special charge from its Russian business. The Group had taken a three-digit million write-down in connection with its stake in St. Petersburg Airport, as it is unable to get its money as a result of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the international sanctions. According to the company itself, it cannot part with its investment for contractual reasons, but it is also no longer active in St. Petersburg itself.

Fraport is aiming for more profit in 2023. The operating result (Ebitda) is expected to be slightly higher than in 2022 at 1.04 to 1.2 billion euros, while consolidated group profit is expected to reach 300 to 420 million euros./ceb/stw/DP/stw/stk