After Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Germany, experienced severe flooding due to heavy rain, the airport has issued a warning about potential flight disruptions continuing into the next day.
The airport’s X account warned passengers that “yesterday’s weather conditions will proceed to affect today’s flight schedule” and asked them to check flight times.
“Due to increased passenger volume we advise all passengers to arrive at the airport 2.5 hours before their flight time,” the FRA statement continued.
The warning comes after the airport experienced severe flooding on August 16, 2023, forcing airlines to divert or cancel flights from and/or to FRA. Videos shared on social media showed the airport’s apron completely covered in water.
According to flightradar24.com data, there were 561 tracked departures from FRA on August 16, 2023, while there were 610 tracked departures from Germany’s busiest airport the day before. In comparison, FRA saw 678 tracked departures on July 21, 2023, the busiest day for the airport in the past 30 days.
Meanwhile, Meteorological Aerodrome Reports (METAR) of the airport, provided by flightradar24.com, showed the first thunderstorms with rain at 5:50 pm UTC or 7:30 pm local time (UTC +2). The last METAR reading with rain and/or thunderstorms was at 11:50 pm local time (UTC +2), with the next METAR reading at 12:20 pm local time (UTC +2) on August 17, 2023, warning pilots of recent showers and rain.
Looking at the flight schedules for August 17, 2023, 34 departures and 81 arrivals have been canceled so far, according to flightradar24.com.
In July 2023, FRA welcomed more than 6 million monthly passengers for the first time since the pandemic, according to an announcement from the airport’s managing group Fraport on August 11, 2023. While that was an increase of 20% compared to the same month in 2022, Fraport noted that it was still 13.1% below “the pre-crisis level of 2019”.
At the end of H1 2023, Fraport welcomed a total of 26.87 million passengers, earning €1.8 billion ($1.9 billion) in revenue and ending the period with a net profit of €85 million ($92.4 million).