Half -annual figures
Air traffic management: Germans fly after
Germany’s air traffic is growing more slowly than the industry wants. Your association sees clear reasons for the deficit to European competition.
Despite an increase in the number of passenger numbers in the first half of the year, the German air traffic economy continues to see itself in the crisis. The increase in the number of guests by 2.8 percent to 99.4 million people also means that 15.8 percent were still missing at the pre-corona level from 2019, explains the BDL industry association. In the first half of the previous year, the number of passengers had increased by 10 percent.
In a European comparison, the Germans fly behind, judges BDL President and Eurowings boss Jens Bischof. Above all, he sees the high state taxes and fees as the reason for the continued doldrum: “We see the consequences of almost every airport in Germany: Airlines take off their planes and use them in other European countries with correspondingly competitive costs.”
Ticket prices cannot rise infinitely
Bishop explains that passengers would also have to pay for the lower offer. For the airlines, it is only possible to pass on the drastically increased fees and taxes to their customers: “The willingness to pay is not infinite.”
Every third plane deducted
According to association calculations, direct airlines such as Ryanair or Easyjet have relocated almost every third in Germany, formerly stationed jet abroad since 2019. From 190 jets there were still 130. This not only lost international connections, there is also a billion dollar damage to the economy. Each medium -haul aircraft secure around 170 jobs and contributes around 70 million euros in added value to the gross domestic product.
With a typical European connection, the state burdens of around 35 euros per passenger would have to decrease by half, says Bischof. The reduction in air traffic tax already canceled by the Federal Government for 2026 would have been at least a first signal to the airlines.
No catch -up in winter
According to the association, German air traffic hardly caught up in the coming months. The deficit in domestic flights is particularly strong, which in the half year not even half (49 percent) of the pre -crisis offer. In the winter flight schedule from the end of October, the overall offer from German airports will grow by 8 points to around 90 percent of the pre-corona level. In the other European countries, 7 points are 116 percent high.
dpa
Source: Stern
