Fewer passengers for Air Berlin

German carrier Air Berlin on Friday reported a significant year-on-year drop in passenger numbers for June 2012. It carried just below three million passengers last month, down five percent from June 2011 levels.

Lufthansa's biggest domestic rival said it used only 79 percent of its total capacity which had already gone down in the wake of a cost-saving scheme, involving a whittled-down flight schedule.

Air Berlin said the decline in passenger numbers was partly a result of the delayed opening of Berlin's new international airport. It was to start operating in June, but will now not be opened before March 17, 2013.

Summer profits ruined

The airline has had trouble relocating enough flights to Berlin's existing two airports which are to close the very day the new compound at Schönefeld goes into operation.

It's still unclear whether Lufthansa fared better in June. The German flagship carrier is due to announce its passenger figures on July 11.

All in all, Berlin's two old airports saw a 7.7 percent year-on-year increase in passenger numbers in June, suggesting that other airlines were able to adapt more quickly to the havoc caused by the international airport delay

hg/slk   (Reuters, dapd)