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Frankfurt Hahn Airport
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- HHN/EDFH
- Country:
- Germany
- Passenger Count :
- 615,871 (2021)
- Runways :
- 03/21 - 12,467ft (3,800m)
- Airlines:
- Ryanair, Wizz Air
- Terminals:
- Terminal A | Terminal B
There was good news for users of Hahn Airport today, as Swift Conjoy GmbH revealed it had purchased the insolvent facility for an undisclosed sum. Hahn Airport was ruled insolvent by a German court in late October, with an administrator appointed to try and save the site.
Hahn Airport has had an odd few years. The airport used to be a significant base for low-cost carrier Ryanair. However, when the airline got into Frankfurt International Airport, it significantly scaled back operations at the tertiary airport. The airport remained a cargo hub, but with the return of Ryanair, it looks like things are on the up for the facility.
Purchased by an investment firm
Today, Swift Conjoy GmbH revealed that it had purchased Hahn Airport for an undisclosed sum. The purchase agreement was signed before a notary yesterday, though the deal is still subject to some undisclosed conditions being met in the coming weeks.
Hahn airport's new owners are confident about the facility's future. Jan Markus Plathner, the insolvency administrator, said,
"Due to the very good demand and the successful implementation of various measures, the operation is again economically stable in passenger traffic and air freight."
Swift Conjoy GmbH plans to significantly enhance the airport's passenger and cargo operations, aiming to turn the facility into a "regional, short and medium-haul passenger airport and major international logistics hub." The managing directors of Swift Conjoy point out that their plans for the facility will bring many new job opportunities in the areas of ground handling, duty-free, and fire fighting, to name a few.
Years of passenger service decline
Concerning passenger services, 2007 was the golden year for Frankfurt Hahn, with annual departures falling fairly swiftly since. However, where passenger flights declined, cargo flights rose significantly. Unfortunately, the last couple of years has seen a significant decline in freight services at the airport.
Freight began to surge at the airport in 2015, as demonstrated in the graph above. The airport remained a valuable freight hub in 2020 when there was an explosion in freight demand. Cirium's data shows that demand fell significantly last year, with passenger departures climbing slightly year on year. This year, there are more passenger departures than freight departures planned for the first time since 2014.
The airport's new owners will surely be hoping to attract a fair bit of freight traffic back to the airport, though they could also try and further drive passenger traffic. One of the airport's downsides is its remote location. While it is typically marketed as a Frankfurt airport, it takes over two hours on a bus to reach the facility, with the center of Luxemburg actually falling closer as the crow flies.
What do you make of Frankfurt Hahn's sale? Let us know in the comments below!