Berlin — Ryanair and Lufthansa will drive growth at Frankfurt airport this winter, helping Germany’s largest hub boost passenger numbers by about 5% this year, airport operator Fraport said on Thursday.Fraport had been slow to open up Frankfurt, one of Europe’s busiest and most expensive airports, to low-cost carriers. After passenger numbers dropped last year it agreed to discounts for Ryanair — angering main customer Lufthansa."We are also achieving solid growth in Frankfurt again, where we made the necessary strategic decisions at the right time," Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte said as the group reported third-quarter core profit in line with expectations.Ryanair previously served Frankfurt from Hahn, about 120km away, but is expanding rapidly after starting flights to the city this year. Lufthansa is benefiting from extra demand caused by the collapse of local rival Air Berlin. Lufthansa is even using a larger 747 jumbo jet, usually used for long-haul flights, 60 times on the Frankf...
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