Our business units: a sustainable contribution to success

Aviation business unit

Munich Airport ensures connectivity for the people and businesses based here. It can be assumed that demand for air travel will continue to develop positively due to the economic strength and attractiveness of Bavaria and southern Germany as an incoming destination. Munich Airport is crucial as a gateway for this region. With 37 million travelers in 2023, Munich Airport achieved around 80 percent of the record volume from the pre-crisis year 2019. Despite the slower recovery in Germany compared to other European aviation markets, we remain committed to our goal of cementing our position as one of the leading hubs in a continuously consolidating European aviation market. Long-haul and connecting traffic will therefore be the essential cornerstones of the aviation strategy in the medium to long term, too.

The Lufthansa Group’s decision to base its reactivated Airbus A380 aircraft exclusively at Munich Airport and to further expand its long-haul services at the location is a strong expression of its commitment to the Bavarian hub within Lufthansa’s multi-hub system. Further destinations in point-to-point traffic are to increase the variety and attractiveness of the service. Especially in light of the current operational challenges, the quality of the infrastructure and processes is of central importance in strengthening our position in competition with other airports.

Airfreight has benefited in particular from the attractive long-haul routes offered at Munich Airport. In 2023, freight volumes increased by seven percent year-on-year to a total of around 277,000 tons, while all other major German freight locations recorded declines. Development of the cargo and logistics business thus reflects the key importance of functioning global supply chains.

FMG and Lufthansa: success through partnership

In January 2023, Flughafen München GmbH and Deutsche Lufthansa AG signed a letter of intent committing to a joint sustainability strategy, the development of Munich Airport into an intermodal traffic hub, the expansion of infrastructure according to demand, and the promotion of digitalization and innovations in operations. Our system partner Lufthansa plans to cut its net CO₂ emissions in half by 2030 compared with 2019 and aims to achieve a neutral CO₂ balance by 2050. To accomplish this, the airline is primarily focusing on accelerated fleet modernization, the continuous optimization of flight operations, and the use of sustainable aviation fuels.

With the joint construction and operation of Terminal 2, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2023, we have launched a cooperation model that is unique in Europe. The satellite building commissioned in April 2016 marked the first expansion stage for this successful joint venture. Since June 2023, Deutsche Lufthansa has been using the Airbus A380 in its normal flight operations at Munich Airport once again following a three-year break. In summer 2024, the airline will expand its services at Munich Airport more than ever before with over 190 long-haul flights per week, primarily to North America and Asia.

Commercial Activities business unit

The Commercial Activities business unit works to ensure and increase FMG’s value contribution. Optimizing the efficiency of space and the product portfolio are key to further increasing customers’ willingness to make purchases. Changing retail structures and consumer habits also call for new marketing and acquisition concepts. This includes the increased use of digital tools to appeal to air travelers directly. Offering customers a special experience at Munich Airport is also one of the tasks in this business unit. Staging in the terminals, the presentation of strong brands, and extraordinary events in the Forum of the Munich Airport Center (MAC) forum all help to achieve this.

The recovery in passenger figures and rising demand in 2023 revitalized our commercial business in all areas: Retail and Catering recorded corresponding new leases and lease renewals. In advertising, the focus in the past fiscal year was on acquiring new customers from the automotive and solar industries. Existing brand partnerships were successfully consolidated.

In the area of parking and mobility, a change in customer structure can be observed: Individual transportation, which particularly includes vacation travel, was offset by an increasing yet still lower volume of business travel. For this reason, we are strengthening our focus on the online marketing of car parking spaces, which are especially important for vacation travelers. Various renovation and new construction projects in the parking infrastructure are currently reducing the parking space capacities at the airport.

Real Estate business unit

The Real Estate business unit’s job is to provide buildings and space as needed for Munich Airport’s value-added processes. The ongoing development of real estate, spaces, and infrastructure is essential for the airport. In addition, the real estate business is being positioned in the third-party market.

Using real estate as a means of securing the core business of aviation

The real estate and infrastructure at Munich Airport are being successively modernized, as many of the buildings date back to when the airport first opened. In addition to sustainability, the development and operation of our properties also requires a high level of comfort and convenience for air travelers and visitors. Terminal 1’s new pier represents a pioneering investment in the future and reflects the requirements of a modern terminal infrastructure. Over the next few years, T1, the central office building, and the parking garages will also be extensively renovated.

Generating substantial contributions to profits by developing real estate

FMG also aims to tap into new sources of revenue outside its traditional portfolio with major projects. For example, an investor from Freising is building Germany’s most sustainable concert and event arena on the western edge of the airport campus. This multifunctional hall offers a wide range of uses, particularly for concerts for up to 20,000 visitors, and promises to be a stimulus for the regional economy and cultural life.

Taking account of regional interests

We maintain an intensive dialogue with the airport region and consider its needs when developing the airport location and the associated construction projects. FMG assumes responsibility for infrastructure projects and measures that extend beyond the airport grounds. We provide the best possible support to target groups and companies that value proximity to the airport and an international environment when choosing where to locate their businesses.

5-star global involvement

In addition to AeroGround, aerogate, and Cargogate, the key subsidiaries include Munich Airport International GmbH (MAI). It promotes valuable growth beyond the Munich Airport site and thereby opens up new business units for FMG. MAI offers management, consulting, and training services for the international aviation industry and is a valued partner for strategic investors and aviation companies around the world, not least because of Munich Airport’s internationally recognized 5-star quality. Thanks to MAI’s efforts, Munich Airport has developed from a consultant for airport relocation and commissioning (ORAT) to a renowned infrastructure operator with almost 50 projects over the last 30 years.

The team of Munich Airport NJ LLC (MANJ) – a wholly owned subsidiary of MAI – oversaw the construction of the new Terminal A at Newark Liberty International Airport, which opened in January 2023. MANJ has operated Terminal A ever since. In March 2024, the building was awarded a 5-star rating by Skytrax, the most prestigious seal of quality for outstanding airport services.

Together with its subsidiaries Munich Airport US Holding LLC, Munich Airport NJ LLC, and amd.sigma strategic airport development GmbH, in 2023 MAI was able to secure numerous projects around the world and successfully complete its existing ones. With the new representative office in Singapore, MAI has solidified its commitment to the Asian continent and in 2023 was awarded contracts for projects in Thailand, Taiwan, and the Maldives, for example. As an agile driver of innovation, Munich Airport International is also committed to developing a sustainable future in mobility. As a partner in the «Air Mobility Initiative» funded by the Free State of Bavaria, MAI is involved in various research projects in the field of «Advanced Air Mobility». In 2024, its focus will be on the strategic expansion of concession and management contracts and the Consulting segment.

Projects 2023

Progress on other projects continued in the United States, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Germany, Albania, Uzbekistan, the Cayman Islands, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Project locations in 2023:

• JFK International Airport, USA
• Newark Liberty International Airport, USA
• Palmerola International Airport, Honduras
• El Salvador International Airport, El Salvador
• Colombia
• Brazil
• Cayman Islands
• Germany
• Austria
• Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• Sofia International Airport, Bulgaria
• Albania
• Uzbekistan
• Tajikistan
• Airports of Nigeria
• Conakry, Guinea
• Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
• Muscat, Oman
• U-Tapao–Rayong–Pattaya, Thailand
• Taiwan
• Maldives