- Airlines cut more than 300,000 flights and over 35m seats from German airports since 2019.
- Around 473 regular routes were dropped and 349 added.
- Berlin Brandenburg lost nearly three in ten flights compared with pre-pandemic levels.
- Germany is one of only three European nations where flight offerings continue to contract.
- High taxes and charges are driving capacity elsewhere.
Airlines have cut more than 300,000 flights and over 35m seats from German airports since 2019 according to an analysis by the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry. While air traffic grows across most of Europe, Germany is among only a handful of countries still seeing a decline. Around 473 regular routes have been dropped and only 349 added.
Berlin Brandenburg has been hit especially hard, losing nearly three in ten of its flights compared with pre-pandemic levels. Industry leaders warn that regions are losing vital links to major European economic centres and that high taxes and charges are driving capacity elsewhere. Flight numbers fell from roughly 1.7m to under 1.4m since 2019.
Germany lags behind the rest of Europe in post-pandemic aviation recovery. Airlines point to steep increases in the German air passenger tax and rising airport charges, security fees and air traffic control costs. Carriers including Ryanair and Lufthansa have responded by closing bases and scaling back or pulling out of regional hubs.
