The string concert at German airports continues. After Ryanair and Eurowings, Condor now also wants to take off from Hamburg less often. At the same time, Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr warns of further cuts in flight schedules. For months now, the high state-imposed taxes and fees have been cited as the reason for the calm in the German skies. Ticket prices are rising and new, costly requirements have already been decided.
According to the Federal Association of the German Aviation Industry (BDL), flights with 115.7 million seats will be offered to, from and within Germany from September 2024 to the end of February 2025. That is 5 percent more than a year earlier, but still 13 percent less than in the period before the corona pandemic.
In a European comparison, Germany, with this recovery rate of 87 percent, is clearly lagging behind the offer in the rest of Europe, which has now reached 106 percent. Medium-sized airports such as Stuttgart (66 percent), Düsseldorf (74 percent), Cologne (75 percent) and Berlin (76 percent) have a particularly narrow flight schedule. Until the most recent announcements, Hamburg was still doing comparatively well at 86 percent.
Higher fees and environmental regulations
The main issue is the air traffic tax, which was increased by 25 percent as of May 1st (15.53 to 70.83 euros depending on the distance), the air traffic control fees and the so-called aviation security fee, which is charged for checking passengers and their hand luggage at the airport. The possible maximum limit here is to rise from the current 10 euros per passenger to 15 euros next year.
In addition, there are take-off and landing fees from airports and new environmental regulations from the European Union. In addition to the existing emissions trading, it requires the increasing addition of sustainably produced kerosene (SAF) from next year, starting with a share of 2 percent. Biogenic SAF is made, among other things, from leftover cooking oil and is around four times more expensive than conventional kerosene.
From 2030, it must also contain fuel that is produced synthetically from green electricity alone. The German AUA parent company Lufthansa complains that there is not yet a single factory in Europe for the “Power-to-Liquid” (PtL) process. In a national solo effort, Germany is demanding a PtL sub-quota of 0.5 percent within the SAF share from 2026. The Lufthansa Group explains that this quota will not be met due to a lack of availability.
Neighboring countries much cheaper
As a result, the state-related costs at German airports are several times higher than in neighboring European countries, the industry association ADV has calculated. When an Airbus A320 medium-haul jet takes off in Germany, an average of 3,500 euros is due, compared to 1,300 euros for its neighbors. On long-haul routes, fees would be four times higher than at competing locations.
To a certain extent, airlines can choose which connections they offer. Low-cost airlines in particular pay attention to the lowest possible entry price in order to be able to fill their planes reliably. With an average ticket price of 66 euros, which Ryanair charged from German departure airports in January 2024 according to DLR, there is clearly little room for state-imposed taxes and fees that make up at least half of this amount.
If the tickets become more expensive on average, the risk of loss-making flights increases: the airlines switch to other routes. This even applies to the Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings, which actually focuses on the German market. The Lufthansa Group is also pursuing a clear internationalization strategy with acquisitions in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and possibly soon in Italy and Portugal. The group only generates around a third of its sales in Germany.
Relocation to other EU countries
Of course, fewer flights mean less CO2 pollution in the environment. However, rising ticket prices also mean that fewer people tend to be able to afford air travel. Flying is becoming more and more of a social issue, warns Condor boss Peter Gerber, for example. A significant proportion of air travel is not cancelled, but is simply shifted to other routes and destinations: instead of via Frankfurt or Munich, flights are then flown via Istanbul, Dubai or Doha, without anything being gained for the environment.
The mostly publicly funded airports as well as the federally owned air traffic control point to the generally increased costs for material and personnel, which they would have to refinance. Tax cuts or waiving EU environmental regulations do not currently appear to be foreseeable in Germany. The Ministry of Transport has simply announced that it wants to examine air traffic control fees more closely.
