Flying is particularly expensive in this country due to high fees and taxes. Airlines are therefore increasingly turning away. The industry fears the worst.
Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr expects further cuts to the flight schedules of the aviation industry in Germany. “I am very worried about the connection of our business location,” Spohr told “Bild am Sonntag”. “The extremely increased state costs in air transport are leading to a further shrinking offer. More and more airlines are avoiding German airports or canceling important connections.”
The head of the airport association ADV, Ralph Beisel, takes a similar approach. He told t-online: “The principle of hope no longer works.” Germany's air traffic development is below the level of 2013. “We are no longer competitive. When will Berlin wake up?”
The head of the association demands that air traffic must be strengthened “on a broad front”. Instead, taxes and fees rose inexorably. “At some point the barrel is simply full,” complains Beisel.
Recently, the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair and the Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings canceled numerous flights. Both airlines cite the high cost burden at German airports as the reason for the cancellations. For months, the aviation industry has been complaining about high costs such as flight fees and the air traffic tax, which was increased in May, as well as fees for security checks and air traffic control.
Lufthansa boss Spohr criticized the fact that additional government regulations were already planned: “Further national solo efforts have already been decided for the next few years – for example an admixture quota for e-fuels, which, however, does not yet exist in sufficient quantities. As a result In international comparison, the quality of connections in many important economic regions is declining.”
E-fuels are synthetically produced carbon-based fuels that are intended to reduce climate-damaging CO2 emissions from aircraft.
