© RTL Archiv / David Steichen
2021 saw more passengers travelling through Luxembourg Airport compared to the lockdowns in 2020, but numbers were still half those experienced in 2019.
In a statement published on Friday, Luxairport said around 2 million passengers were counted at Findel last year – some 41% more than in 2020, but 54% less than in 2019, before the global crisis took hold. Cargo flights, however, are booming with around 1.1 million tons of freight reported in 2021, a 19% increase on the previous year.
The airport does not expect passenger numbers to recover before 2024 at the earliest. In 2019, the airport counted around 4.4 million passengers, compared to 2.01 million in 2021 – a figure comparable to 2013, according to the statement.
In 2021, the demand for flights from Luxembourg was heavily influenced by pandemic measures and private travel, as well as extremely low demand on days outside of holiday periods. However, 2021 also saw more destinations added, as national airline Luxair expanded their network to places such as Dubai. 2022 will see this expansion continue, according to the air carrier.
Although business and tourist travel may appear less optimistic for the moment, Luxembourg’s cargo offerings are increasing.
The challenges of the global logistics chains combined with the low supply of capacities on long-haul passenger flights also led to increased demand for full-freight flights in 2021. This resulted in a 19% increase in goods handled at Luxembourg Airport in 2021 compared to 2020. For the first time in its history, Luxembourg Airport achieved a volume of more than one million tons of cargo handled.