New passenger record in Dortmund

Victoria Popp had something to be happy about: She was the 2,331,027th passenger at Dortmund Airport in 2019. It is a really special number for Dortmund Airport because it shows that more passengers than ever before had used Dortmund Airport. On Wednesday, 13 November, the previous record from 2008 was broken.

Victoria Popp checked in with Wizz Air yesterday for her flight to Vienna when she was surprised by Airport CEO Udo Mager and Guido Miletic, Head of Marketing & Sales. The record passenger received a gift of a 100 Euro coupon from the Heinemann Duty Free Shop, which Victoria Popp was allowed to redeem before her departure.

Victoria Popp is from Berlin and studies singing in Hanover. She flies to Vienna for rehearsals and often uses Dortmund Airport for her travels because of the destinations and the good price/performance ratio.

“The year is not over yet, but it is already clear that 2019 has been the busiest year in the airport’s history so far. We are very proud that, despite turbulent times, we were able to set a new passenger record”, said Mager, delighted. He also thanked everyone who contributed to this success: “This year’s growth was only possible thanks to the strong cooperation with our system partners such as the Federal Police, the district government and customs. A big thank you is also due to all the employees who worked with such great enthusiasm and joy so that we could be standing here today talking about a record year”. 

Guido Miletic explained the reasons for the growth: “The enormous growth this year and the associated high number of passengers is due to new connections, frequency increases as well as the route and airline selection”. In 2018 and 2019, a total of 14 new destinations were introduced. The airlines are reacting to the strong demand in the region. It has been announced that for 2020 the new airline Lauda will start flying from Dortmund in the future.

“With its many destinations in Eastern Europe, the airport also serves the mobility requirements for this region. Many residents with Eastern European roots use the connections from Dortmund Airport to visit friends and families abroad”, said Miletic. However, the target group for the airport is wider: “The warm-water destinations such as Mallorca, Porto and Thessaloniki attract tourists. And cities like Munich, Budapest and London make Dortmund Airport interesting for business travellers”.

Dortmund Airport relies on a strong and solid airline partner with its main client, the Hungarian airline Wizz Air. The airline has been flying from Dortmund since 2004 and has grown steadily ever since. However, complemented by Ryanair, Eurowings, Sunxpress, Easyjet and soon Lauda, the airport does not just rely on a single airline.