Hahn Airport (HHN) has had an eventful history. This is evidenced by the various changes of ownership over the past 30 years or so. But what future does the airport have, located around 110 km southwest of the large Rhine-Main Airport? Does it have any economic prospects at all? TRIWO CEO, Peter Adrian delivered answers to this and other issues concerning HHN, during his recent presentation at the German Air Cargo Association (acd).
TRIWO AG bought Frankfurt-Hahn Airport out of insolvency in April 2023, following a month-long bidding process, loudly applauded by Hahn’s 400+ employees. However, the takeover took place at a time of a downturn in air freight which has more or less continued to the present day. Despite meager freight figures, Adrian assured the acd members that the management firmly believes in Hahn’s success. He also confirmed that owner TRIWO AG will keep its word and invest 20 million euros in the location in the coming years.
The master plan includes the renovation of the apron areas, the acquisition of a maintenance hangar, the rollover of the ground fleet from carbon to electric powered vehicles, and the modernization of the airport’s equipment, for example. In addition, key areas in the passenger terminal are to be renovated and operational processes improved to ensure a better customer experience.
“I assume that there won’t be any new airport being built in Germany within the next couple of decades,” the manager predicted, pointing at growing public resistance to aviation due to noise pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Notorious naysayers even try to torpedo plans to expand existing airports that, at times, operate at capacity limit, he said.
24/7/365 ops permit is Hahn’s biggest asset
The manager expressly welcomed the fact that Hahn enjoys broad support among the population in the surrounding region – a stark contrast to the widespread air traffic skepticism within the EU. At HHN, there is little industry within a radius of 50 km, and those who work at the airport do not want to risk their jobs.
Unlike most German airports, HHN offers carriers the choice of 24/7 operations, given an unlimited night flight permit and broad slot availability. For cargo airlines in particular, these are attractive conditions for opting in favor of HHN. In addition to these operational features, users also appreciate the direct access to the management, whose doors are always open to existing and potential customers.
“Hahn Airport is a valuable pillar for the German export industry,” emphasized Mr. Adrian. This will be even more the case once HHN is technically updated.
High level of acceptance
Turning to last year’s traffic results, he admitted that, similar to other German and most European airports, Hahn felt the effects of the current decline in cargo volumes. “Such cycles are normal in the aviation industry. In contrast, air freight experienced record demand when the borders were closed due to Covid 19. Now, cargo is suffering from overcapacity and declining rate levels. However, this phase will pass, and volumes will rise again, which also applies to rates,” he predicted, optimistically.
The entrepreneur went on to say that Hahn Airport enjoys a high level of acceptance within the logistics and air freight industry. This is demonstrated not only by carriers offering scheduled services, but also by the high number of charter missions, commencing or ending at HHN.
Freight figures cause concern
Mr. Adrian referred to promising talks with airlines showing interest in serving Hahn, but did not reveal any names.
At the end of his presentation, he looked far into the future. “By 2030, we expect an annual freight throughput of 400,000 tons and 4 million passengers departing from or arriving at Hahn.”
However, there is still a long way to go, at least in terms of air freight. According to official data, a total of 127,422 tons were handled at Frankfurt Hahn from January 2023 to the end of October 2023. This is a drop of 30.9% compared to the same period last year.
