A success that obliges

Memmingen Airport can once again reflect on a successful year. Never before have so many passengers flown to and from Memmingen as in 2023, and the airport is expecting around three million passengers for the current year. The rapid growth is a success, says CEO Ralf Schmid, but it is also an obligation to continue investing in the infrastructure of southern Germany’s leading low-cost airport.

Here are the figures: In the past year 2023, Memmingen Airport recorded 2,824,711 passengers, which represented an increase of almost 42 per cent compared to the previous year, when 1,991,654 million passengers were counted. Growth is being driven in particular by the two major airline partners, Ryanair and Wizz Air, which are continuously expanding their services in response to strong demand. Ryanair now has three aircraft stationed in Memmingen. Most recently, the airlines added 60 additional flights to their programme during the Christmas holidays. “Memmingen Airport has developed into a model of success,” comments Managing Director Ralf Schmid on the positive result. He expects around three million passengers in 2024. Ryanair has already announced new destinations for the next summer

schedule. There will be flights to Dubrovnik and Pula in Croatia and Tangier in Morocco. Rhodes and Sarajevo are having comebacks. New in Memmingen is the airline GP Aviation, which connects Memmingen with Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, three times a week.

The rapid growth at Memmingen Airport does, of course, have consequences. “In order to continue to guarantee our passengers a pleasant airport experience, we will adapt our infrastructure to the changing requirements,” explains Ralf Schmid. The terminal will be further expanded. This applies in particular to the security control area and the departure gates. “Unfortunately,” says Schmid, “there will be occasional bottlenecks in the terminal during the construction work, which may lead to longer waiting times.” The apron areas will also be extended. The car hire and Airport Service Centre has been roofed over to create a sheltered waiting area for passengers, people picking up and dropping off passengers. The catering facilities in the public area in front of the terminal have also been expanded.

Investments are also being made on an ongoing basis in the ambitious Green Airport project, which aims to enable the operation of a climate-neutral airport by 2030. The next step is the expansion of photovoltaics. The airport team is growing almost as rapidly as the number of passengers: the operating company and its subsidiary ALLgate, which is responsible for passenger and aircraft handling, have now grown to around 300 men and women. “The Memmingen Airport job machine is still in full flow,” emphasises Ralf Schmid. “New colleagues are always welcome.”