Fraport CEO: Europe routes to drive Frankfurt airport growth in 2018

BERLIN, March 8 (Reuters) - Airport (Shanghai: 600463.SS - news) operator Fraport (EUREX: 1234108.EX - news) expects passenger numbers at Frankfurt airport to grow again this year by over 3 million people, driven by short-haul traffic in Europe as it attracts more low cost carriers, its chief executive said on Thursday.

"We will give an exact figure next week, but you can expect an absolute number (of the increase) of around the same size as last year," Stefan Schulte said on Thursday at the ITB travel fair in Berlin.

Fraport (IOB: 0O1R.IL - news) is due to announce 2017 results on March 16, when it will provide a first outlook for 2018.

Low cost carriers accounted for around 3 percent of flights at Frankfurt last year, and that will rise to around 5 percent this year, Schulte said. That compares with figures of around 10 to 20 percent at other German airports.

However, main customers Lufthansa (Xetra: LHAB.DE - news) and Thomas Cook's Condor are also growing at the moment, following the collapse of Air Berlin (LSE: 0GPE.L - news) last year, he said.

He said passenger growth on European routes would be strongest, while growth in intercontinental passengers would be around 3 percent.

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan)