The German airport of Frankfurt-Hahn (HHN/EDFH) filed for insolvency, a German court of justice announced on Tuesday 19 October. The Covid-19 pandemic dealt a blow to the activity of low-cost companies, in which the airport was specialised.
The airport is located between Frankfurt-am-Main and Luxembourg and is equidistant at 120 kilometres of both cities. Currently, in addition to cargo airlines, only Ryanair and Wizz Air are serving the airport with passenger flights.
The Chinese group HNA, which owns 82.5% of the complex, has requested “the opening of insolvency proceedings“, the Bad Kreuznach court said. The courts have appointed a law firm to administer the company in the context of these proceedings.
The airport opened in 1993 on a former US base and was acquired in 2017 by HNA from the Rhineland-Palatinate region, which retained a 17.5% stake. Specialising in low-cost airline flights, it advertises itself as “Germany’s first low-cost airport” on its website. In 2019, it attracted nearly 1.5 million passengers. But the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly weakened its business, which saw an approximately 70% drop in passenger numbers in 2020.
Almost 2,000 people work directly at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport.
