Economic environment

Development of the macroeconomic conditions

In addition to the subsiding coronavirus pandemic, the global economy in 2022 was primarily shaped by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the beginning of the year, supply bottlenecks for raw materials and intermediate goods in connection with the coronavirus pandemic slowed growth. The Ukraine war added to the already higher energy and food prices and led to an increase in inflation rates worldwide. Interest rate hikes by many central banks to curb inflation rates dampened economic momentum.

In the euro area, the economy continued to benefit in the first half of the year from the lifting of pandemic control measures. However, the significant price increases became noticeable over the summer period.

In addition to supply bottlenecks, rising energy costs, and the resulting increase in inflation rates, the export-oriented German economy suffered from the worsening labor shortage. This was felt in almost all sectors of the economy and had the effect of inhibiting supply while consumer demand remained high. Overall, economic development in Germany was weaker than the European average.

The US economy grew in the second half of the year despite considerable monetary tightening by the national central bank. The emerging markets suffered from the difficult external environment, but overall development was mixed. In China, the government’s zero-Covid strategy in place until the end of the year prevented higher growth rates and impacted global supply chains. Brazil’s economy grew in 2022 mainly due to good development in the service sector. The Peruvian economy, on the other hand, suffered from massive price increases.

Despite many disruptive factors, global trade grew in 2022, but clearly lost momentum in the second half of the year.

Source: Bloomberg

Development of the legal environment

During the past fiscal year, there were no changes to the legal environment that had a significant influence on the business development of the Fraport Group.

Development of the industry-specific conditions

According to the preliminary figures from Airports Council International (ACI), global passenger traffic increased by 55.5% in the period from January to November 2022 compared to the same period the previous year. Air freight volume fell by 6.0%. European airports also recorded a jump in passenger numbers of 98.5%. In terms of air freight, European airports posted a below-average decline of 5.2%. The passenger numbers at German airports recovered by 110%. Cargo tonnage decreased by 6.0%.