Airport Nuremberg on a Growth Trajectory

Albrecht Dürer Airport Nuremberg looks back on a highly successful financial year 2025. With 4.51 million passengers, the airport recorded the busiest year in its history. This represents an increase of 11.9 percent compared to the previous year and marks the first time the former peak from 2018 has been surpassed.

“2025 was an exceptional year for Airport Nuremberg. The persistently strong demand for air travel demonstrates how attractive our route network is for leisure, city and business travel,” said Managing Director Dr. Michael Hupe. “We are particularly pleased that demand remained at a high level across all seasons of the year.”

Above‑Average Growth and High Load Factors

In 2025, the average aircraft load factor reached 83.2 percent, once again indicating an excellent level. The fourth quarter developed particularly strongly, with passenger numbers increasing by around 20 percent. Overall, the airport achieved an average annual “recovery level” of 110 percent compared to the pre‑crisis year 2019, significantly exceeding the national average of German commercial airports. Due to high operating costs at German airports—such as the German aviation tax—the average recovery level across Germany was only 88 percent last year, while the European average (excluding Germany) had already reached 108 percent.

Positive Development in Scheduled and Leisure Traffic

In 2025, Airport Nuremberg handled a total of 4,508,765 passengers. Commercial traffic grew by 12 percent, with both scheduled and leisure traffic developing very dynamically.

Scheduled traffic reached 2.81 million passengers (+10.8 percent). Growth was driven in particular by low‑cost carriers: Ryanair, which remains the largest airline in Nuremberg with a market share of 28 percent; Wizz Air, which for the first time became the airport’s second‑largest airline; and Pegasus Airlines, which recorded strong growth in traffic to Turkey.

In the full‑service segment, international hub connections showed stable positive development. Lufthansa increased its passenger volume by 11.5 percent, supported in part by the use of larger aircraft and improved operational reliability. Other key network airlines include Turkish Airlines, KLM and Air France, all of which connect Nuremberg year‑round with their respective hubs.

Leisure traffic grew even faster, reaching 1.63 million passengers, an increase of 13.2 percent. A major growth impulse came from Marabu Airlines, which stationed a second aircraft in Nuremberg from summer 2025. SunExpress, Corendon Airlines, Air Cairo and Eurowings also made significant contributions to the positive development. More than one third of all passengers travelled for leisure purposes in 2025.

Most Popular Destinations and Market Structure

Antalya once again ranked as the most popular destination from Nuremberg in 2025, with well over 600,000 passengers and a new record result. Up to seven airlines served the destination simultaneously, including SunExpress, Pegasus and Corendon with year‑round services.

Other particularly popular destinations included Palma de Mallorca, Frankfurt, Hurghada, Istanbul, Amsterdam, London Stansted and Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen. Together, these eight destinations accounted for more than 50 percent of total passenger traffic.

Strong Regional Travel Demand and Growing Incoming Traffic

The positive traffic development reflects the high propensity to travel among residents of the Nuremberg metropolitan region, for leisure trips, visiting friends and relatives (VFR traffic), as well as for business and trade‑fair travel. At the same time, incoming traffic continues to gain importance. Nuremberg recently recorded more than two million tourist arrivals and over 3.8 million overnight stays per year, with a sharply increasing share of international visitors. Demand is becoming more evenly distributed throughout the year and is no longer concentrated solely on the Christmas season around the Christkindlesmarkt.

More Efficient Flying Despite Rising Passenger Numbers

In 2025, a total of 52,918 aircraft took off and landed at Airport Nuremberg, an increase of 8.8 percent compared to 2024. Despite rising passenger numbers, flight movements remained below the 2019 level. This confirms the ongoing structural shift in aviation: larger aircraft, higher load factors and the reduction of high‑frequency domestic point‑to‑point services are leading to increased efficiency. Both the average number of seats per flight and seat utilization continue to rise.

Significantly Improved Financial Performance

Despite the record year in traffic figures, Airport Nuremberg closed the 2025 financial year with a net loss of €‑1.128 million. Compared to the previous year, this represents a significant improvement of €4.435 million.

Operating earnings (EBITDA) increased to €11.808 million (+€4.268 million). Key drivers were substantial revenue increases resulting from passenger growth, which also had positive effects on retail, catering and parking revenues.

Largest Single Investment: Mega PV System at the Airport

Investment activity increased significantly in 2025. A total of €26.049 million was invested in asset maintenance as well as the expansion and modernization of infrastructure.

The largest single investment of the year was the commissioning of the ground‑mounted photovoltaic system with a capacity of more than 13 megawatts (peak), which was connected to the grid in July 2025. It is the largest PV system in Nuremberg and a key milestone on the airport’s path toward energy self‑sufficiency and sustainable operations.

Outlook: Growth with Uncertainties

For 2026, Airport Nuremberg expects demand to remain fundamentally stable. The goal is to further broaden the route network and expand year‑round stable connections in particular in order to further reduce seasonality.

At the same time, the market environment remains challenging. Geopolitical uncertainties such as the Iran conflict, resulting high fuel prices and volatile economic conditions pose risk factors for the aviation industry. “Active airline acquisition and the continuous nurturing of our existing partnerships are crucial levers for further strengthening our route network and securing positive development in the long term,” said Dr. Michael Hupe.