Munich is Germany's second-largest airport, with almost 48 million passengers in 2019. Its growth has been exponential, with passenger traffic up by almost 40% between 2010 and 2019. This growth has been supported by Lufthansa, which has made Munich its second hub. The airport is regularly ranked as one of the best in Europe. This position could help it to return to high levels of activity, much faster than its competitors, once the pandemic is over.
How do you see 2021? How can the vaccine influence demand? Which markets could recover as quickly as possible?
Andreas von Puttkamer - The situation remains so fluid that forecasts for 2021 can only be made in part. How the situation develops will depend on the speed with which the vaccination will progress here in EuropeAnd all over the world. After a very difficult winter for the industry as a whole, we founded high hopes for the summer programme. According to many airlines, bookings are well advanced for the holiday periods. Indeed, we are seeing growing interest from travellers as soon as a destination is labelled as safe and it is possible to get there without quarantine. However, this positive outlook should not obscure a worrying fact: travel volumes are unlikely to exceed 50 % of pre-crisis levels.
The health crisis has forced the industry to rethink its business model. How has the airport adapted?
A. von P. - À MunichAt Covid 19, as at all other major international airports, the Covid 19 pandemic and travel restrictions have led to an increase in the number of passengers. massive drop in traffic and, consequently, heavy economic losses. Our management must therefore adapt its strategic orientation and resource planning to ensure our long-term competitiveness. As early as the spring, Munich Airport responded to the situation with targeted measures. We have been able to limit the economic losses for the current year by short-time working, closing certain terminals, strictly limiting expenditure and postponing our investments.
How will the network develop over the coming months? Is intercontinental traffic still relevant? Can low-cost carriers replace premium carriers in certain segments?
A. von P. - Tourist and VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) traffic should be the fastest to pick up, mainly to the Mediterranean basin. We even have first concrete announcements of new lines such as those operated by Air Dolomiti to Forli and Cuneo in Italy and to Aarhus in Denmark. The situation is more difficult for long-haul travel. Due to warnings from countries, most intercontinental destinations have been withdrawn from the schedules. So it remains to be seen to what extent there will be a recovery here in the coming months. Of course, Munich also offers attractive prospects for low-cost traffic. However, it is not yet possible to assess whether this traffic will grow more strongly than other segments after the crisis.
How can the Munich hub become attractive again when many passengers now want direct flights?
A. von P. - Together with Lufthansa, we want to preserve Munich's status as a major European air hub. As a five-star airport, Munich already enjoys an excellent reputation. This is particularly true for transfer passengers. Once we have overcome the crisis, we want to return to the methods that have contributed to our success in the past: constantly improving the quality of service and passenger flow at our airport. We will use new technologies to gradually make the travel experience easier and more pleasant for our passengers. This includes, for example, contactless passage through security checks and boarding gates with biometric facial recognition, or contactless payment.
How can the airport help boost business traffic?
A. von P. - The extent of the upturn in business travel will depend less on what airports and airlines offer than on corporate travel policies. In 2020, they were able to see for themselves the possibilities, but also the limits, of modern videoconferencing technology. From personal experience, I can draw two lessons from the crisis. Firstly, some trips can certainly be replaced by a virtual meeting. Secondly, that a virtual meeting cannot be compensated for by the special quality of a personal meeting. So business travel will also continue to have good prospects for development.
