Transport Technologies and Operations Management

Transport Technologies and operations management

Airport Systems Planning and Design

Frankfurt Airport

Prepared by

João Fialho

MSc Complex Transport Infrastructure Systems

Spring Semester

March 2012

Airport Systems Planning and Design – Frankfurt Airport

Contents

1.Introduction

2.History and Development

3.Airport Infrastructure

3.1 Passenger Buildings

3.1.1 Terminal 1

3.1.2 Terminal 2

3.2 Cargo Terminals

3.3 Runways

4.Traffic Data and Traffic Forecast

4.1 Traffic Data 1980-2011

4.1.1 Passenger Traffic

4.1.2 Freight Traffic

4.1.3 Aircraft Movements

4.2 Changes in Patterns of Use

4.3 Passenger Traffic Forecasts, 2025

5.Frankfurt Airport Development Plans

5.1 Development Plans

5.1Critical Analysis on the Development Plans

6.References

APPENDIX 1 – Passenger Terminals

APPENDIX 2 – Freight Terminals

APPENDIX 3 – Runways

APPENDIX 4 – Passenger Traffic (1980 – 2011)

APPENDIX 5 – Freight Traffic (1986 – 2011)

APPENDIX 6 – Aircraft Movements (1980 – 2011)

TTOM, Airports Systems Planning and Design – Frankfurt Airport

1.Introduction

Frankfurt am Main Airport (Source: Fraport AG)

Frankfurt am Main Airport (FRA) is an international airport located in Frankfurt, Germany, 12 km southwest of the city center. The city is the biggest financial centre in Europe and it is at the center of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, with a population of 5,600,000, and is Germany’s second-largest metropolitan region.

The Frankfurt Airport is run by the international airport business group Fraport AG, who hold shares or management contracts in 12 other airports, namely Burgas Airport (BOJ), Varna Airport (VAR), Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi (DEL), Antalya Airport (AYT), Cairo International Airport (CAI), Jorge Chavez International Airport Lima (LIM), Hannover-Langenhagen Airport (HAJ), Aeroport International Blaise Diagne, Dakar (DKR), King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED), Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) and Pulkovo Airport St. Petersburg (LED).

With passenger traffic of 56.4 million in 2011, serving 275 destinations in 111 countries, Frankfurt Airport is the third busiest airport traffic in Europe and the ninth busiest in the world. It is also the second busiest airport in Europe by cargo traffic, with a total of 2.25 million tons in 2011.

Frankfurt Airport is the main hub of Lufthansa, Germany’s flag carrier, and of Condor Flugdienst, an airline based in Germany, operating scheduled leisure flights to the Mediterranean, Asia, Africa, North America and Caribbean.

The purpose of this report is to explore and analyze the Frankfurt Airport concerning the traffic growth and changes in patterns of use, forecasts and plans for the future and to make a critical analysis of the future plans based on the topics covered in the Airport Systems Planning and Design module of the Transport Technologies and Operations Management course.

2.History and Development

In this chapter it is presented a brief historical overview of the Frankfurt Airport, with the identification of major events and airport infrastructure developments.

Founding the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport (1936)

The Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport and Airship Base was officially opened on July 8, 1936, with scheduled flights to Rio de Janeiro and Lakehurst.

In the following years it became the second-largest airport in Germany, just after Berlin Tempelhof Airport.

World War II(1939-1945)

The Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport is almost completely destroyed by bombs and explosives during the World War II.

In the end of the conflict, the southern part of the airport ground was occupied to build the Rhein-Main Air Base as an Air Force Base for the United Sates Air Force.

Second Runway (1949)

As a response to the block of Western Berlin by the Soviet Union, the Allies organized the Berlin Airlift, with the purpose to carry supplies via air to the people in West Berlin. Frankfurt was one of the primary bases for the allied airplanes. The use of heavy airplanes caused damages in the runway in Frankfurt and forced the US army to build a second parallel runway in 1949.

Terminal Mitte (1972)

In 1951 restrictions for German air travelers were lifted and the civil air traffic started to grow. The passenger air traffic grew from 400.000 passengers in 1952 to 2.200.000 passengers in 1961, and it was working already as an international airline hub.

To accommodate this traffic growth, in 1962 it was decided to build a larger terminal, with a capacity of 30 million passengers per year, assumed to be sufficient for the next 30 years. The new terminal, called Terminal Mitte (today known as Terminal 1), was opened to the public on March 14, 1972. Along with the new terminal, a train station opened at the airport.

Third Runway (1982)

The plans for a third runway started in 1973 and the runway West went into service on April 12, 1984.

Terminal 2 (1994)

In 1990 the works for a new terminal started because it was foreseeable that Terminal Mitte would reach its capacity limit sooner than expected. The new terminal (Terminal 2)opened in 1994, and increased the airport capacity to 54 million passengers per year. Along with the terminal, a people mover system (Sky Line) was established, providing a connection between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.

Second Train Station (1999)

In 1999 a second train station was built as part of the new Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line.

Fourth Runway (2011)

A fourth runway went into operation on October 20, 2011, increasing the airport capacity from 83 to 126 aircraft movements per hour.

3.Airport Infrastructure

3.1 Passenger Buildings

Frankfurt Airport Terminals (Source : )

The Frankfurt Airport has two passenger terminals: Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Lufthansa has also a dedicated terminal for use of their first class passengers.

Lufthansa has also a separate First Class Terminal that can only be used by passengers Lufthansa First Class or Lufthansa's Miles & More HON Circle members. The terminal is used by 300 passengers daily and it provides individualized service to every passenger.

3.1.1 Terminal 1

Terminal 1 (Terminal Mitte)is 420 meters long and it is divided into three areas, Concourses A, B and C. It provides a capacity of approximately 40 million passengers a year.

The terminal is functionally divided into three levels, the departure level in the upper deck with check-in counters, the arrival level with baggage claim areas at ground level and, underneath, a distribution level with access to the (regional) train station and underground and multilevel parking. Departure and arrivals levels each have separate street approaches.

The design of Terminal 1 is mainly a pier design in Concourse A and B, with a long and narrow building with aircraft parked on both sides. Concourse B has also a satellite design, with two detached buildings where aircraft can park around its entire circumference, and a linear design in level 3. Concourse C has also a linear design, with aircraft parked along the terminal building

Lufthansa and its Star Alliance partners currently dominate Terminal 1.

3.1.2 Terminal 2

Terminal 2 is located to the East of Terminal 1 and it is divided into two areas, Concourses D and E. It provides a capacity of approximately 15 million passengers per year.

The design of Terminal 2 is a linear design, with individual stands located along the terminal building.

Currently Terminal 2 is mainly used by the airlines of Oneworld alliance and Sky Team.

3.2 Cargo Terminals

Frankfurt has two cargo terminals, North and South, and it is known as Cargo City Frankfurt.

3.3 Runways

The Frankfurt Airport has 4 runways with the following characteristics:

Runway / Direction / Lenght [m] / Surface
1 / 07R/25L / 4000 / Asphalt
2 / 07C/25C / 4000 / Asphalt
3 / 18 / 4000 / Concrete
4 / 07L/25R / 2800 / Concrete
Runways (Source: Wikipedia)
Runways Layout (Source: )

To distinguish between the three parallel runways clear of each other, they are backed up by their geographical relationship to each other with R (Right / Right) denotes C (center / center) and L (Left / Right).

During regular operation, the outer two parallel runways (07L/25R and 07R/25L) are used for landings and the central parallel runway (07C/25C) and the West Runway (18) for take-offs.

Because of its location in north-south-direction, in contrast to the other two runways in east-west-direction, the use of the third runway is limited: it can only be used for takeoffs in the southward direction because otherwise it would interfere with the air traffic at the other runways.

With the commissioning of the north-west runway in October 2011, capacity will be gradually increased up to 126 aircraft movements per hour

4.Traffic Data and Traffic Forecast

4.1 Traffic Data 1980-2011

In this chapter it is presented the traffic data for passengers, freight and aircraft movements for the period between 1980 and 2011.

4.1.1 Passenger Traffic

The passenger traffic grew from 17.6 million passengers/year in 1980 to 56.4 million passengers/year in 2011. In 2011 the passenger traffic grew 6.5%.

Year / Total [pax/year] / Year / Total [pax/year] / Year / Total [pax/year]
1980 / 17.664.171 / 1991 / 27.991.435 / 2002 / 48.459.594
1981 / 17.718.537 / 1992 / 30.758.852 / 2003 / 48.359.320
1982 / 17.290.419 / 1993 / 32.550.083 / 2004 / 51.098.271
1983 / 17.779.541 / 1994 / 35.134.834 / 2005 / 52.219.412
1984 / 19.031.764 / 1995 / 38.191.247 / 2006 / 52.810.683
1985 / 20.271.197 / 1996 / 38.770.166 / 2007 / 54.167.817
1986 / 20.495.975 / 1997 / 40.271.919 / 2008 / 53.472.915
1987 / 23.305.603 / 1998 / 42.744.018 / 2009 / 50.937.897
1988 / 25.235.401 / 1999 / 45.869.959 / 2010 / 53.013.771
1989 / 26.724.430 / 2000 / 49.369.429 / 2011 / 56.443.657
1990 / 29.631.427 / 2001 / 48.568.918
Passenger Traffic, 1980-2011 (Source: Fraport AG)

From the passenger traffic evolution it can be identified the second oil crisis in the beginning of the 80’s, the first Gulf War in the beginning of the 90’s, the Dot-com boom in 2000, the 9/11 attacks and the recent financial crisis with significant decreases in traffic demand.

Passenger Traffic Evolution, 1980 – 2011

4.1.2 Freight Traffic

The freight traffic grew from 981 tons/year in 1986 to 2.25 million tons/year in 2011. In 2011 the freight traffic decreased 2.8%.

Year / Total [ton/year] / Year / Total [ton/year] / Year / Total [ton/year]
1986 / 981.518 / 1995 / 1.494.261 / 2004 / 1.868.821
1987 / 1.087.320 / 1996 / 1.527.943 / 2005 / 1.991.537
1988 / 1.194.652 / 1997 / 1.545.304 / 2006 / 2.154.064
1989 / 1.278.082 / 1998 / 1.496.199 / 2007 / 2.190.461
1990 / 1.328.372 / 1999 / 1.566.987 / 2008 / 2.133.302
1991 / 1.247.144 / 2000 / 1.730.439 / 2009 / 1.917.227
1992 / 1.280.114 / 2001 / 1.635.235 / 2010 / 2.307.793
1993 / 1.338.465 / 2002 / 1.655.803 / 2011 / 2.251.618
1994 / 1.437.953 / 2003 / 1.674.739
Freight Traffic, 1980-2011 (Source: Fraport AG)
Freight Traffic Evolution, 1986 - 2011

4.1.3 Aircraft Movements

The aircraft movements grew from 222.293 aircraft/year in 1980 to 487.162aircraft/year in 2011. In 2011 the aircraft movement grew 4.6%.

Year / Total [aircraft/year] / Year / Total [aircraft/year] / Year / Total [aircraft/year]
1980 / 222.293 / 1991 / 319.825 / 2002 / 458.359
1981 / 221.037 / 1992 / 340.468 / 2003 / 458.865
1982 / 216.474 / 1993 / 352.143 / 2004 / 477.475
1983 / 222.087 / 1994 / 364.716 / 2005 / 490.147
1984 / 227.056 / 1995 / 378.388 / 2006 / 489.406
1985 / 238.071 / 1996 / 384.971 / 2007 / 492.569
1986 / 249.676 / 1997 / 392.121 / 2008 / 485.783
1987 / 269.313 / 1998 / 416.329 / 2009 / 463.111
1988 / 293.948 / 1999 / 439.093 / 2010 / 464.432
1989 / 311.770 / 2000 / 458.731 / 2011 / 487.162
1990 / 324.387 / 2001 / 456.452
Aircraft Movements, 1980-2011 (Source: Fraport AG)
Aircraft Movements Evolution, 1980 - 2011

4.2 Changes in Patterns of Use

In order to understand the change in patterns of use, it was analyzed the passenger traffic split by world region from 2007 to 2011.

2007 / 2008 / 2009 / 2010 / 2011
Continental / 60% / 60% / 59% / 59% / 62%
Western Europe / 41% / 41% / 40% / 40% / 42%
Eastern Europe / 7% / 7% / 7% / 7% / 8%
Domestic / 12% / 12% / 12% / 12% / 12%
Intercontinental / 40% / 40% / 41% / 41% / 38%
North America / 15% / 15% / 15% / 15% / 14%
Latin America / 3% / 3% / 3% / 3% / 4%
Middle East / 5% / 5% / 6% / 6% / 5%
Far East / 13% / 12% / 12% / 12% / 11%
Africa / 4% / 5% / 5% / 5% / 4%
Passenger Traffic Split (Source: Fraport AG)

Although this information is not enough to fully understand the change in patterns of use, it seems that the Intercontinental traffic in Frankfurt Airport is decreasing, especially in the Far East and North America markets.

4.3Passenger Traffic Forecasts, 2025

The forecasted passenger traffic is 61.5 million passengers/year in 2016 and 82.4 million in 2025.

Year / Total
2016 / 61.500.000
2025 / 82.400.000
Passenger Traffic Forecasts, 2025 (Source: European Comission, Impact assessment of revisions to Regulation 95/93 – March 2011)
Passenger Traffic Forecast, 2025

5.Frankfurt Airport Development Plans

5.1 Development Plans

Thekey elements of expansion for the Frankfurt Airport are:

New Terminal 3 (Source: )

Construction of a new terminal (Terminal 3) – Fraport plans to build a large new terminal south of the existing terminals. The new Terminal 3 should be able to house up to 25 million passengers and will feature 75 new aircraft positions. An extension of the people mover system SkyLine is planned to transport people to Terminal 1, the airport train stations and Terminal 2.
Terminal 1 expansion - A new pier, called A-Plus, is currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2012. The pier will operate flights to non-Schengen destinations and will be used exclusively by Lufthansa. It will be compatible with Airbus A380 operations and should increase the passenger capacity by six million.

5.1Critical Analysis on the Development Plans

When planning the future investments, it is important to evaluate the previous investments in order to avoid mistakes or replicate good decisions.

In my opinion, the main mistakes in the previous developments in Frankfurt Airport were:

The Terminal 2 linear design is not suitable for transfers, which is one of the main functions to provide in a hub airport like Frankfurt.

The non parallel runway system (runway 3) generates operation restrictions. This runway configuration doesnot allow maximize the runways capacity.

For future developments it is important to take into consideration the uncertainty related with the forecasted traffics. The European financial crisis, the oil prices or even the EU aviation carbon tax represents major risks for the for the Frankfurt hub.With this purpose the development plans should be flexible and capable to accommodate “different futures”.

With a flexible approach in mind, my recommendations for future developments are:

Flexible approach in planning the new Terminal 3. Avoid doing the total investment all at once, allowing monitoring the evolution of the traffic and mitigate the risk of the investment.
“Redesign” the Terminal 2 with the objective of increase the utilization of this terminal. This objective can be achieved with a hybrid solution that can meet a variety of existing needs.
Strengthen the strategic alliance with Lufthansa, possibly with jointly projects for the new terminal 3. This will allow Frankfurt Airport to remain as the main hub for Lufthansa, reducing the risk of losing share of this market to the Munich Airport.
Plan low cost buildings in order to capture a new market segment – low cost airlines. This will also diversify the airlines that use the airport, reducing the dependence on Lufthansa.

6.References

(1)Gleave, S., “Impact assessment of revisions to Regulation 95/93”, European Commission , March 2011.

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TTOM, Airports Systems Planning and Design – Frankfurt Airport Page 1 of 9

APPENDIX 1 – Passenger Terminals

Terminal 1, Concourse A,B and C / Terminal 2, Concourse D and E

Source: