FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Changes to the vacation period had an impact on passenger numbers at Frankfurt Airport in June. Last year, the reporting month was positively influenced by the Whitsun vacations, which this year already took place in May. The airport operator Fraport counted a good 5.6 million passengers in June, 1.4 percent more than a year earlier, as it announced in Frankfurt on Thursday. This was 14.4 percent below the level before the coronavirus pandemic in June 2019.

Meanwhile, the cargo business increased significantly in June. Around 178,324 tons of freight and air freight were handled in Frankfurt, 11.4% more than a year earlier.

"In the first half of the year, we increased traffic in Frankfurt by 1.8 million to 28.8 million passengers," said Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte according to the press release. "Due to the numerous strike days at the beginning of the year, we lost a further 500,000 passengers." Despite this loss, Fraport is still on target for a total annual volume of 61 to 65 million passengers, the statement continued./stk/jha/