Annual Report 2008 (pdf) - Flughafen München

CEO’s letter
Management
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Management
CEO’s letter
In 2008 – for the sixth straight year – Munich Airport registered new all-time highs in the number of passengers
and the number of takeoffs and landings. With 34.5 million passenger movements, we once again
scored a new record result in the passenger sector. Given the economic malaise that began to take hold
during the latter half of the year, this is a more than commendable result – one that again put Munich firmly
ahead of the curve in comparison with other airports in Germany and across Europe. Major hubs like London
Heathrow, Madrid and Amsterdam, by contrast, reported lower passenger totals compared to a year earlier.
This meant we were able to reaffirm our position as number seven among Europe’s ten busiest airports and
to move up one place in the global rankings to 27th.
One of the most gratifying advances in the aviation sector was the exceptional growth we saw in 2008 in
long-haul traffic, a segment of special strategic importance. The gains here helped us underscore and
strengthen our role as an international hub airport. Our increasingly rich route network and the outstanding
quality of the handling and other services at Munich Airport are earning us greater recognition in both the
international and the domestic arena – something reflected in our renewed selection as Europe’s best airport
in 2008: In the annual survey conducted by well-known London-based market researchers Skytrax among
more than 8 million air travelers, we were voted as number one in Europe for the fourth year in succession.
Nonetheless, all of us at Flughafen München GmbH are very much aware that we can’t afford to rest on our
laurels after a result like this. To continue to rate as highly in our customers’ estimation in the future, we
need to maintain a strong, customer-driven culture and first-rate service. Crucially, we also need to offer
them sufficient infrastructure capacity.
Our most important project as far as the latter is concerned is the construction of a third runway. This key
addition to the airport’s infrastructure will create the right conditions to enable us to continue to fulfill the
valuable role we’ve performed for Bavaria’s economy and people in the past. In the light of the rates of traffic
growth we’ve seen in recent years, the need for additional runway capacity at Munich Airport is more than
a horizon issue, it’s an operational reality we already face on more than one occasion every single day.