First Half 2003: Airfreight and Aircraft Movements Develop Positively at Frankfurt Airport, Passenger Figures Almost the Same As in 2002

Frankfurt, Main, Germany (ots) -

FRA Remains Number One Intercontinental Hub - Positive Summer Trend - Frankfurt-Hahn Airport Records Double-digit Growth

Almost 22.5 million passengers traveled through Fraport AG's homebase Frankfurt Airport (FRA) during the first six months of 2003, only a 2.1-percent decline over the same period in 2002. The weak global economy, the Iraq war and the SARS infectious disease were the main reasons for this drop. In contrast, FRA's airfreight tonnage grew during the first six months of 2003 - almost 798,600 metric tons of air cargo and airmail were handled or 2.2 percent more than last year. The number of aircraft movements also increased by 1.4 percent to over 225,600 take-offs and landings.

At Germany's biggest airport (FRA), wide-body jets accounted for 24.3 percent of all aircraft taking off and landing. Two thirds of all wide-body aircraft coming to Germany land at Frankfurt Airport. Unchanged, traffic at Frankfurt Airport accounted for 70 percent of all intercontinental flights from Germany during the first six months of 2003. Thus, Frankfurt Airport expects increasing traffic figures for the second half of 2003 and for the current high season in particular.

Groupwide (the Fraport Group comprises six airports: Frankfurt/Main (Germany), Antalya (Turkey), Frankfurt-Hahn (Germany), Hanover (Germany), Lima (Peru) and Saarbrücken (Germany), Fraport AG welcomed almost 30.9 million passengers. Despite a difficult market environment this represents only a minor drop in passengers of 1.6 percent. A total of some 937,500 metric tons of air cargo and airmail was handled at the Group's airports during the first six months of 2003, a 3.6-percent increase over the corresponding months in 2002. Aircraft movements declined by 0.2 percent to 342,800 take-offs and landings.

Traffic at Antalya Airport, which is located in the Turkish Riviera, was heavily affected by the Iraq war and the fact that many travelers chose a holiday destination in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea. This resulted in a 16.6-percent decline in passengers at Antalya Airport to almost 2.9 million. The turbulent development of Frankfurt-Hahn Airport, located in the Hunsrück region west of Frankfurt, still profits by the prevailing boom in services offered by low-cost carriers. Some 1.1 million passengers used Frankfurt-Hahn Airport during the first half of 2003, representing an increase of 82.1 percent over the same period last year.

With 2.2 million passengers, Hanover-Langenhagen Airport registered a 0.8-percent growth in passenger figures during the first half of 2003. Saarbrücken Airport experienced a 4.2-percent decline to almost 191,000 passengers. In contrast, passenger traffic at Peru's Lima Airport grew by 2.8 percent to 2.1 million compared to last year.

At the end of the first half of 2003 Fraport AG's Group statistics were still influenced by the negative impact of the SARS infectious disease, the Iraq war and the prevailing cautiousness of consumers in Germany. This was reinforced by the fact that the start of the summer school break in several highly populated German states was shifted from the second half of June to the month of July. Thus, the German demand for holiday travel was deferred to the second half of 2003. During the second quarter of 2003 alone some 11.9 million passengers used Frankfurt Airport, a 4.2 percent drop compared to the same period last year. With some 393,700 metric tons of air cargo, FRA experienced a slight 1.2-percent decline in airfreight tonnage which was due to the reduction in services in Deutsche Post's overnight domestic airmail network, which is based at FRA. Without this reduction balanced results would have been reached. The number of aircraft movements registered at FRA during the second quarter alone dropped by 1.6 percent to some 113,700.

Fraport Group Traffic Figures - First Half 2003

Airports Passen- Change Cargo Change Move- Change

gers(1) in % (metric in % ments in %

abs . tons) abs.

abs.

Frankfurt 22,463,484 -2.1 798,556 2.2 225,665 1.4

Antalya(4) 2,857,814 -16.6 n.a. n.a. 19,198 -17.2

Hahn(3) 1,074,676 82.1 71,951 9.7 14,604 8.1

Hanover 2,204,301 0.8 7,343 14.9 42,786 0.7

Lima(2) 2,107,062 2.8 59,370 15.4 33,133 -3.8

Saarbrücken 190,568 -4.2 233 124.0 7,393 -0.6

Fraport Group 30,897,905 -1.6 937,453 3.6 342,779 -0.2

Source: ACI statistics

(1) Passengers (commercial traffic: arrivals + departures + transit)

(2) Lima Airport Partners statistics

(3) Frankfurt-Hahn Cargo (incl. cargo transported by truck)

(4) Only passengers at the international terminal