International airlines fly past Germany

German airports rank just 28th out of 31 when it comes to the recovery of air traffic after the coronavirus pandemic. The figures from the German Aviation Association (BDL) speak for themselves and confirm the warnings of the Board of Airline Representatives in Germany (BARIG):

German airports counted 99.4 million passengers in the first half of 2025. This is 15.8 percent fewer than in 2019. This ranks Germany 28th out of 31 European countries in terms of air traffic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. The half-year figures for air traffic in Germany published by the German Aviation Association (BDL) confirm what the industry and the international airline association BARIG have long warned about: International airlines continue to fly increasingly farther than Germany. In the first half of the year, growth slumped to just 2.8 percent compared to the same period last year. The previous year, passenger numbers had increased by ten percent.

The BDL cites the high burden on Germany as an aviation location as the reason for this development: This year alone, these costs have risen by around €1.1 billion to a total of around €4.4 billion due to government-imposed costs. "We are seeing the consequences at almost every airport in Germany: Airlines are withdrawing their aircraft and deploying them in other European countries with competitive cost levels. In view of this alarming development, it is essential that the federal government prioritizes the crisis facing Germany as an aviation location," emphasized Jens Bischof, President of the German Aviation Association (BDL), at the presentation of the industry's half-year figures.

"The new German government has received a bitter receipt today. The government is primarily responsible for the unbearably high costs of air travel in Germany. The consequences: Compared to neighboring European countries, there are fewer and fewer flights to and from Germany," explains BARIG Chairman and Executive Director Michael Hoppe. This brings with it serious disadvantages, as a lack of connectivity and reduced capacity are putting a strain on mobility, the movement of goods, and industry. Goods must increasingly be transported via foreign airports and then by truck to Germany. This is expensive, time-consuming, and pollutes the environment.

Germany is also losing ground in domestic traffic compared to Europe

Domestic German air traffic also performed significantly weaker in the first half of 2025 than in other European countries. The number of flights between major German cities stagnated at around 20 percent of the 2019 level. Including feeder flights to the Frankfurt and Munich hubs, domestic German traffic reached 49 percent of 2019 levels. The number of routes served also fell sharply – from 56 to just 39. In other European economies such as France, Great Britain, and Poland, by contrast, the number of domestic flights averaged 94 percent of 2019 levels. For Germany to regain its position as an aviation hub, the government burden of around €35 per passenger – or around €4,500 to €5,000 per flight – for a typical European connection from Germany would have to be cut by half, according to the BDL.

The German government has it in its own hands to provide the urgently needed relief, according to BARIG, and is calling for the significant reduction in the air transport tax already agreed upon in the coalition agreement. International airlines would then fly more to Germany again, it claims, which would also boost exports and restore lost jobs. Instead, however, the German government is remaining inactive. "Revoking the most recent increase in the air transport tax in May 2024 would have been a first signal for airlines to return," says BDL President Bischof, appealing to the German government: "It is high time to take countermeasures. It is not yet too late for Europe's number one economy to regain a leading position in air transport connectivity. Here, the growth desired by the German government can be unleashed with comparatively limited resources."

According to the BDL, the outlook for the coming months is also bleak. In the 2025/26 winter flight schedule (starting at the end of October), air traffic from Germany will remain far behind the ongoing aviation boom in other European countries, with growth of eight percentage points to 90 percent of the pre-coronavirus level (+7 percentage points to 116 percent of 2019). The BDL's figures for the first half of 2025 are only a foretaste, warns the BARIG. This highly disappointing development is expected to continue in the second half of the year, meaning that a recovery in air traffic in Germany after the pandemic will still elude them. In almost all other European countries, air travel is booming, and the 2019 figures have long been reached or significantly exceeded.

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