July 2003 traffic figures at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) - Germany`s busiest airport - fell only slightly short of the corresponding month last year. Nearly 4.5 million passengers used FRA last month, a drop of 1.9 percent from July 2002. Airfreight tonnage decreased at an even smaller rate: About 126,000 metric tons of cargo handled at Frankfurt Airport in July 2003 represented a 1.1-percent decline compared to July 2002. With around 40,000 takeoffs and landings, the number of aircraft movements decreased by 2.2 percent. Reaching only 10,000 metric tons, airmail tonnage was down by 11.3 percent due to service reductions in Deutsche Post AG`s overnight domestic airmail network.

Fraport AG, the owner and operator of Frankfurt Airport continues to be optimistic about the second half of the year, when traffic is traditionally stronger. For the total year 2003 passenger traffic is expected to show a drop of maximally between one and two percent, if at all.

In general, the weak global economy and the effects of the SARS infectious disease continued to have an impact on the important Asian aviation market. At the end of July the SARS effect was hardly noticeable anymore.

In the passenger sector it is obvious that the sluggish economy continues to curb business travel activity. Demand for domestic flights decreased whereas traffic on intercontinental routes showed strong growth - particularly to North America, the Middle East and the Caribbean. Cargo development clearly shows that the strong euro and the sluggish economy are particularly affecting export volumes.