The letters FRA sit in front of the new Terminal 3 of the Frankfurt airport, Germany, October 8, 2025. Terminal 3 is expected to open on April 22, with its first offical departure on April 23, 2026. REUTERS
March 17 (Reuters) – German airport group Fraport guided for an increase in 2026 core earnings on Tuesday, as the opening of the new Terminal 3 in Frankfurt is set to support higher passenger traffic.
The operator of Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest by passenger numbers, said it expected its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation to be around 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in 2026. Last year, the core profit was 1.44 billion euros.
Fraport said it expected annual passenger traffic in Frankfurt to be between 65 million and 66 million this year. Last year, 63.2 million people travelled through the hub, 10% below the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.
Growth will be supported by the opening of the Terminal 3, which is scheduled to begin operating on April 23, after a ten-year construction period.
“We would be significantly better placed in Frankfurt if we did not have the excessive regulatory costs that continue to limit passenger growth in the German market,” CEO Stefan Schulte said in the earnings statement.
Over the long term, the new terminal will have a positive impact on Fraport’s earnings, assets and financial position, it said.
But in the short term, the operator will book a negative impact of about 300-400 million euros on its result due to higher interest expenses and rising depreciation and amortisation.
Reporting by Amir Orusov and Danny Callaghan in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak
