Foreword by the Executive Board

2023 was a year of stabilization for Munich Airport, with the return of passengers on intercontinental routes, a strong demand for tourist destinations, and, finally, a return to profitability. A degree of normalcy has returned to air traffic. People have regained their trust and want to fly.

37 million travelers generated an increase of 17% compared to the previous year and therefore another significant rise in passenger numbers. The approximately 302,000 flights at our airport had an average occupancy rate of 81 percent – a record value. The significant growth shows how well Munich is recovering as a location. Thanks to this pleasing development, we have once again returned to profitability with approximately 25 million euros in profit. Group revenue increased by around 185 million euros to around 1.4 billion euros. At the same time, the numerous current, global trouble spots as well as shortages in aircraft procurement and personnel dampened the upswing.

However, thanks to the ongoing involvement of an in-house recruiting task force, around 1,500 new colleagues were recruited for the Munich Airport Group last year.

The future holds challenges but is also promising. The company is undergoing a transition. We have invested in our personnel, in the quality of our services, and in our infrastructure. At the same time, numerous new construction projects are being realized throughout the airport campus.

The pier at Terminal 1 is currently our largest construction project. Our innovation and ideas center LabCampus, which is now open, is coming to life and offers employees, customers, and business partners a unique environment in the immediate vicinity of Bavaria’s gateway to the world. We are now seeing how our decision to stay on course with our most important, strategic projects, even during the biggest crisis in air traffic, is paying off.

We are also formulating targets for sustainable development. We are steering Munich Airport back into the top class of European airports as a green premium hub. The key task here is to reduce the CO₂ emissions that we can influence to net zero and from 2035 to operate Munich Airport in such a way that it no longer releases any climate-damaging CO₂ into the atmosphere. Over the long term, we will keep an eye on the need to decarbonize air traffic. Together with Lufthansa and other partners, we have signed a letter of intent for a research collaboration on the production of sustainable power-to-liquid aviation fuels. This technology has the potential to significantly improve aviation’s carbon footprint, make air traffic more environmentally friendly, and bring us within reach of our climate targets. However, the reality is that it will take a tremendous effort to make air traffic even more climate friendly.

At the beginning of 2023, FMG and Lufthansa also reached an agreement on how the successful strategic partnership should be further structured. As part of the «MUC 2023» program, airport and airline are pursuing targets of outstanding importance together. In addition to the continued development of Munich Airport into an intermodal transport hub, the focus is on the needs-based expansion of the terminal infrastructure and, most recently, the joint promotion of digitalization and innovations in operations. This includes projects such as smart passenger and automated check-in processes, which will make passengers’ travel experience even more pleasant and efficient.

We have had a year with significantly more passengers, as well as more flights to more destinations, and have once again managed to achieve a solid increase in our earnings after taxes. We have consistently invested in our personnel, in the quality of our processes, and in our infrastructure and will continue to do so in 2024.

To another year of moving our world.

Yours sincerely,
JOST LAMMERS
President and Chief Executive Officer,
Personnel Industrial Relations Director