GERMANY: Munich Airport Received 20 Million Passengers In 6 Months Of 2017

In the first six months of 2017, Munich Airport posted the best half-yearly figures in its history: with the 21 million passengers handled during that period, the airport topped the 20 million mark for the first time.

That number matches the full-year figure for 1999, and convincingly demonstrates the powerful growth dynamic achieved by Bavaria's international hub.

In relative terms, passenger traffic was up by around 6 percent as compared with the same period in 2016. As in the previous year, the airport again saw a 4 percent increase in total take-offs and landings to approximately 200,000.

The freight segment also reported a new all-time high, with a 9 percent year-on-year increase in cargo turnover to approximately 180,000 tons.

With the substantial traffic increases, Munich Airport outpaced the industry as a whole in Germany – largely on the strength of a strong performance by the European traffic segment, which showed an impressive 8 percent year-on-year increase in total passengers. Meanwhile, passenger traffic in the intercontinental segment and on domestic routes was up by 6 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

Today, 25 years after it opened, Munich Airport is indeed looking stronger than ever before,said Dr. Michael Kerkloh, the airport's president and CEO, who presented the half-year figures at the Munich Press Club. He also noted the airport's outstanding prospects going forward.

The future outlook has benefited in particular from three key strategic moves by the Lufthansa Group. First: The airline with the distinctive crane logo on the tail will station the first 15 of its 25 new Airbus A350 widebody jets in Munich.

This will yield economic benefits and is also a boon to the environment: In addition to very substantial fuel savings of 25 percent achieved by the A350 as compared with its four-engine predecessor, the Airbus A340, it also has a 50 percent smaller noise footprint on takeoff. Second: When the 2018 summer timetable begins, Lufthansa will have five of its 14 A380 aircraft stationed in Munich for the first time.

Bavaria's hub will join London, Paris and Frankfurt to become the fourth European airport to be home to an A380 fleet. The gigantic Airbus will be used on routes to Hong Kong, Beijing and Los Angeles. Third: Coming as a further boost to Munich's competitiveness is the decision by Eurowings to station aircraft here. Since the start of this year's summer timetable, the airport has been the home base for several Eurowings planes serving around 30 destinations in Europe.

With the foreseeable increases in intercontinental traffic, our high-quality airport will attain a new standard of quality in the coming years. We will then be equally well positioned as a hub across all traffic segments, said CEO Michael Kerkloh.

His final assessment: We're now in the enviable position of being poised to add more chapters to our success story for the next 25 years – in the interests of Bavaria and the people who live here.


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UAE: 2 Million Passengers To Pass Through Dubai Airport,Munich Airport New Service To Arab Travellers

Dubai International Airport (DXB) is anticipating heightened traffic during the week with more than 1.9 million passengers expected to pass through.

The busiest day for departures will be Friday, June 23 with more than 76,000 departing passengers while June 30 will be the busiest day for total traffic (departing, arriving, and connecting) with more than 262,000 customers.

Dubai Airports will augment staff levels and employ passenger flow monitoring technology that allows the airport, airlines, and control authorities to detect and deploy staff to areas of high passenger concentrations.

Further, the airport’s new smart gate service, which allows the use of Emirates ID cards upon arrival and departure, will reduce immigration transaction times to 10-15 seconds and alleviate congestion at immigration points.

“Due to the heavy passenger loads we want to remind passengers to give themselves a bit of extra time to get to and through the airport,” said Dubai Airports’ senior vice president of communication & reputation Anita Mehra.

Emirates is expecting more than 106,000 travellers to pass through Terminal 3 during the weekend and Eid period.

Meanwhile, from July 24 up to and including September 10, 2017, Germany's Munich Airport will offer Arabic-speaking personal shopping assistants on request in Terminal 2.

The native Arabic speakers will be be available to bridge any cultural or language gaps between passengers and the personnel serving them in airport shops. They can also guide travellers through the Terminal 2 shopping area and provide information on offers and products. The service will be free of charge for passengers.

The shopping assistants can also help in case of questions on sales tax refunds or customs formalities. Their uniforms will sport the embroidered text "Arabic Shopping Assistant" so they can be easily identified by passengers.

Staff who work for the retail shops in Terminal 2 have been briefed on the new service and advised that they can call a shopping assistant on request.

Bavaria's gateway to the world is so far Europe's only airport to earn the "five-star airport" title from London-based Skytrax Institute. It has also been selected as the "best airport in Europe" 10 times in the past 12 years at the World Airport Awards presented annually by Skytrax. Moreover, Munich Airport's Terminal 2 was selected by Skytrax as "the world's best airport terminal" for the first time in 2017.

GERMANY: Munich Airport Has Best Terminal In The World

Munich Airport and Lufthansa can bask in the glory of a highly coveted accolade: At the 2017 World Airports Award, announced by the London-based Skytrax Institute, Munich Airport’s Terminal 2 was honored as the world’s number one terminal.

The rankings are based on a survey of 14 million passengers around the world.

Terminal 2, which opened in 2003, now includes the new satellite facility that went into operation last April. The completion of the expansion project has increased Terminal 2’s capacity from 11 million to 36 million passengers per year.

The new building has 27 pierside stands, providing passengers with direct access to their aircraft with no need for a bus transfer.

Terminal 2 is jointly operated by Munich Airport and Lufthansa as a 60:40 partnership.

Terminal 2 is the Munich home base of Lufthansa, its partner airlines, and the Star Alliance. “I’m thrilled that we have gained this excellent recognition along with the airport. Praise from our customers is the biggest compliment we can get.

Terminal 2 offers our guests an excellent travel experience, and the results show that our passengers also feel that way.

A terminal like this is brought to life only through the staff, who make the top-class service possible day in and day out,” said Wilken Bormann, the CEO of Lufthansa’s Munich hub.

Munich Airport CEO Dr. Michael Kerkloh was called to the stage once more at the award ceremony to accept the prize for Europe’s best airport.

Commenting on Terminal 2 being voted the world’s best terminal, Kerkloh said that this was not just an award, but also the start of a mission:

“I see this accolade as an inspiration for us to maintain the excellence of our service and the overall passenger experience in the terminal and to improve it wherever possible.”

The outstanding results achieved by Terminal 2 in the World Airports Awards are rooted in a number of areas.

Along with impressive scores in the passenger experience and overall comfort categories, the terminal achieved top ratings for the entertainment options and the quiet zones where guests can relax, read or work.

T2 also won plaudits as a transit terminal. Right from the drawing board, the building was designed to keep connecting times to a minimum.

The addition of the midfield satellite terminal has enhanced Terminal 2 in terms of quality as well as capacity.

As one of the world’s most advanced airport buildings, the satellite offers passengers a wide range of shopping and dining options amid pleasant surroundings flooded with natural light.

The total retail and dining space in Terminal 2 has nearly doubled with the addition of 7,000 square meters of new restaurants, cafés and stores.

Also winning rave reviews is the decor in the satellite, with the many details inspired by local sights and culture, leaving passengers in no doubt that they are in Munich.

The gates are designed as future-ready waiting areas tailored to travellers’ needs. Everywhere in Terminal 2, passengers can find quiet zones where they can sit back and relax in comfortable lounge chairs.

And those who want to use the time productively will appreciate the free WLAN access, electric outlets and USB connections.

The family waiting areas are set up so that the little ones can expend their excess energy before boarding. In addition, the satellite terminal offers shower facilities outside the Lufthansa lounges for the first time. They are located on the Non-Schengen level for those who wish to freshen up before departing on long-haul flights.

Passengers looking for a special oasis of quiet can visit one of the 11 Lufthansa lounges in Terminal 2.

They include five new ones now open in the satellite building affording spectacular views of the airport apron.

For the utmost in comfort, the roof terrace of the first class lounge features exclusive amenities right at the heart of the airport.

The lounges for passengers with mobility limitations and the unaccompanied minors lounge all have special facilities geared to their guests.

Passengers not scheduled to depart from the satellite can also sneak a peak at the new building. All passengers with a boarding card are welcome to take the short trip to the satellite with the underground people mover.

GERMANY: New Managing Director At Munich Airport

Munich Airport announced the addition of Andrea Gebbeken to airport’s top management team.

Effective immediately, Andrea Gebbeken will function as a third managing director alongside Dr. Michael Kerkloh and Thomas Weyer.

Originally from Germany's Lower Saxony region, Andrea Gebbeken has extensive experience in aviation and logistics, including the post of sole managing director of Tirana Airport in Albania. She joins Munich Airport after serving as the head of north German operations for DB Station und Service AG, the services arm of the German railways. In that role, Gebbeken (49) was responsible for more than 700 employees and the safe and profitable operation of 560 train stations.

As a managing director at Munich Airport, Andrea Gebbeken will be in charge of end customer business, corporate security, and quality and project management. Along with 170 shops and service activities as well as 50 food and beverage operations, with a total area of over 40,000 square meters, she will also be responsible for the promotion and event spaces and the 14 parking facilities with space for more than 36,000 vehicles.

"In view of the big challenges facing Munich Airport, I'm delighted to be making this effective addition to our management team. With her wide-ranging international experience, Andrea Gebbeken is an ideal fit for our airport," says Dr. Michael Kerkloh, the President and CEO of Munich Airport. Andrea Gebbeken is convinced that the Bavarian hub is an excellent place to take off: "I'm looking forward to my new responsibilities and am very excited about contributing to the ongoing success of Europe's best airport."

GERMANY: Hundreds Of Flights Canceled As Strikes Affect German Airports,

Strikes at airports in Düsseldorf, Cologne, Dortmund, Hannover, Frankfurt and Munich are taking place on Wednesday, impacting some 80,000 passengers. German airline Lufthansa has scrapped hundreds of flights.

Ground crews are participating in the mass strikes, which were called by German labor union Verdi in response to a dispute over wage increases. German airline Lufthansa, which is not part of the negotiations, said it had canceled around 900 flights.

Six airports have been targetted by Verdi members working in air safety control, ground services, at check-in counters and in engineering workshops at the airports.

Intercontinental flights were the most affected, but even some domestic and European flights were canceled, Lufthansa said.

In Munich, 740 flights were scrapped, in Frankfurt more than 390, at Cologne/Bonn airport 90, and in Dusseldorf 54, with passengers also facing delays at the airports of Hanover and Dortmund.

Germany's biggest airline Lufthansa took the brunt of the strike with more than 900 flights cancelled and 87,000 passengers grounded. A spokesman for rival Air Berlin said that 87 domestic flights were hit.

A new round of negotiations between Verdi and the government will take place on April 28 and 29.

Verdi - one of Germany's biggest labor unions - is demanding a 6 percent wage increase for some 2 million public service employees it represents. It's also calling for a pay increase of 100 euros ($112.81) per month for trainees.

Wednesday's strike follows similar stoppages Verdi has recently organised in other institutions, including hospitals, town halls and child care centres.

Lufthansa has been hit by several strikes over the past year in wage disputes of its own, with both pilots and cabin staff staging a number of walkouts over pay and early retirement provisions.

GERMANY: Strike To Disrupt German Air Traffic

Airline passengers travelling through Germany are set for a day of disruption after public sector workers at airports started strikes in a bid to push for higher wages.

Lufthansa, Germany's largest carrier, said it was cancelling almost 900 flights at airports including Frankfurt and Munich, equivalent to around 60 percent of its usual daily traffic.

The strike by workers, including ground services, security checks, fire fighting and check-in staff, are likely to severely impede operations at German airports and airport operator Fraport has warned it could take a day or two for services to return to normal.

Staff in Munich are holding an all-day strike on Wednesday, while in Frankfurt, Germany's largest airport, the strike is due to end at 1300 GMT. Munich airport said around 700 of a scheduled 1,100 takeoffs and landings had been cancelled.

Union Verdi represents a wide range of public sector workers across Germany, or 2.41 million people in total. Similar strikes have taken place this week at street cleaning services, schools and swimming pools.

The strikes, classed as "warnings" by the union, have drawn condemnation from aviation associations, especially as pay talks are already due to resume on Thursday.

Verdi chief Frank Bsirske defended the move in an interview with daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, saying the strike was to speed up wage negotiations.

"I hope that this signal will be understood and that an agreement will be reached in the third round (of talks) on Thursday and Friday," he said.

Verdi is asking for a 6 percent pay rise for its members. It rejected an offer of a 3 percent pay rise over two years in mid-April.

ITALY: Air Dolomiti

Air Dolomiti S.p.A. is an Italian regional airline with its head office in Dossobuono, Villafranca di Verona, Italy and operating base at Munich Airport, Germany. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa.

Air Dolomiti operates a network of routes from several Italian destinations to and from Munich. Some of these services are sold under the Air Dolomiti brand while the others are part of Lufthansa Regional.

Air Dolomiti was established on 30 December 1989 by the Linee Aeree Europee (L.A.E). The airline's name derives from the section of the Alps known as The Dolomites. It started airline operations in January 1991 with a Trieste-Genoa route and in 1992 started international services with flights from Verona to Munich.

After several years of co-operation, Lufthansa acquired a 26% stake in January 1999 and increased it to 52% in April 2003 and 100% in July 2003.Since then Air Dolomiti has been controlled by Lufthansa as a member of Lufthansa Regional, a strategic cooperation between regional European airlines.

The airline employed some 552 people at March 2007 and although most Lufthansa Regional subsidiaries operate under their parent's name and colours, Air Dolomiti retains its own identity. At one time the airline's registered office was in Dossobuono, Villafranca di Verona, while the airline's executive headquarters were in Ronchi dei Legionari.

As of March 2014, the all-Embraer fleet consisted of following aircraft:

Embraer E-195 10 In Service

As of September 2014, Air Dolomiti's average fleet age was 3.6 years. All of Air Dolomiti's aircraft are named after titles of famous Italian operas as a tribute to the city of Verona and its famous ancient theatre, the Arena di Verona.

Accidents and Incidents
On November 7, 1999 Air Dolomiti Flight 2708, a Fokker 100, wet-leased from Alpi Eagles (registration I-ALPL, c/n 11250), flying from Venice Marco Polo Airport, Italy, with 44 on board suffered maingear failure while approaching Barcelona International Airport, Spain - it landed safely on a foam carpet.

On August 24, 2008 an Air Dolomiti ATR 72 (registration I-ADLM, c/n 543), operating flight LH3990 from Munich, Germany, to Bologna, Italy, abandoned take off after the pilot announced a smoke alarm. The airline treated the plane's evacuation as a mild incident. But on August 26, an amateur video, filmed by a bystander, was circulating to great interest on television and the Internet. The footage shows tense moments of some 60 passengers jumping from and fleeing the burning plane before fire department workers extinguish the flames.

On May 17, 2012 an Air Dolomiti ATR 72-500 operating on flight EN-1912/LH-1912 from Munich to Venice returned to Munich after the right engine shut down and smoke was discovered in both cockpit and cabin. Shortly after touchdown the plane deviated from the southern runway and came to a standstill about 80 metres into the grass covered side strip. The nose gear is reported to have collapsed in the process. Of the 58 passengers and four crew members aboard, five passengers are reported to have received minor injuries.

Flyers Choose World’s Best, Worst Airports

The best airports in the world are found in Asia, while the worst are located mostly in the developing world. And Paris.

Those are the overall conclusions from the 2015 edition of Sleeping In Airports’ best and worst airports lists, as voted by globetrotters around the world.

On the list of the world’s top airports are the usual suspects, with the perennial favourite, Singapore’s Changi Airport taking the top spot, followed by Incheon airport in Seoul, and Tokyo Haneda in Japan.

In fact, the top five airports listed all hail from Asia, with Taipei and Hong Kong also represented and Kuala Lumpur the other Asian airport at No. 9. European hubs round out the top 10 list.

The only North American airport to crack the list is Vancouver International Airport.

Meanwhile, the other end of the list represents a major departure from the world’s most luxurious airports.

There are no indoor jungles, aquariums, IMAX theatres, spas and luxury boutiques at Port Harcourt International Airport in Nigeria, for example, which nabbed the dubious title of world’s worst airport.

Travellers arriving or transiting through the Nigerian hub are warned to expect virtually no seating for resting their feet, no air-conditioning to cool them down in the stifling heat, and a tent that doubles as the arrivals hall.

While the list of the top 10 worst airports is largely filled with no surprises – most are from developing countries including Nepal, Uzbekistan, Haiti and Afghanistan – there is one conspicuous hub that may seem out of place at first glance.

But according to flyers, the amenities and staff at Paris Beauvais-Tille Airport are bad enough to crack the top 10 list.

“Located in what is plausibly a sparsely furnished converted factory with pre-fabricated ‘temporary’ 10-year-old extensions, BVA was voted this year to be the worst airport in Europe,” reads an explanation on the Sleeping In Airports site.

“Grievances from voters are detailed and far-reaching, but generally revolve around the absence of chairs, kind staff, sufficient toilets and hygienic standards.”

Top 10 airports:

1. Singapore Changi International Airport, Singapore (SIN)
2. Seoul Incheon International Airport, South Korea (ICN)
3. Tokyo Haneda International Airport, Japan (HND)
4. Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan (TPE)
5. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong (HKG)
6. Munich International Airport, Germany (MUC)
7. Helsinki Airport, Finland (HEL)
8. Vancouver International Airport, Canada (YVR)
9. Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia (KUL)
10. Zurich Kloten International Airport, Switzerland (ZRH)

Top 10 worst airports in the world:

1. Port Harcourt International Airport, Nigeria (PHC)
2. Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport, Saudi Arabia (JED)
3. Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport, Nepal (KTM)
4. Tashkent International Airport, Uzbekistan (TAS)
5. Caracas Simon Bolivar International Airport, Venezuela (CCS)
6. Port au Prince Toussaint Louverture International Airport, Haiti (PAP)
7. Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport, Afghanistan (KBL)
8. Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat International Airport, Vietnam (SGN)
9. Islamabad Benazir Bhutto International Airport, Pakistan (ISB)
10. Paris Beauvais-Tille International Airport outside Paris, France (BVA)