At present, seat capacity on domestic feeder routes to Frankfurt and Munich stands at only 65 percent of 2019 levels. A key reason is the sharp increase in government-imposed location costs. Since 2019, taxes and charges have doubled. There is no longer any room to absorb additional burdens, such as the currently very high jet fuel prices. The Lufthansa Group’s airlines continue to operate many routes under constrained conditions because the company is committed to all of Germany. But the pressure is mounting.
And so are concerns in the affected regions. Political voices are increasingly refusing to accept the loss of connectivity and calling for the routes to be maintained. The reality, however, is that the status quo is the result of a development that has unfolded over many years – which policymakers have not only accepted but actively reinforced through their actions in Germany and Europe. At EU level, a fundamental rethink has yet to take place.
State governments, in particular, are now recognising the value of aviation for their regions, but a coherent federal and state policy to safeguard a competitive aviation sector is not (yet) in sight. For instance, the Federal Ministry of Justice is currently supporting yet another tightening of consumer protection rules in Brussels, which would make flying even more expensive. The same applies to the EU’s unilateral climate policy, which primarily affects European airlines. The German government is not addressing the European Commission with sufficient determination on these issues.
For Germany’s federal states, access to international flight connections is a key economic factor. Connectivity attracts investment and business locations and strengthens employment and tax revenues. This is not only crucial for Germany as an export-oriented nation, but also for the country’s capability to act and to safeguard its sovereignty. International cooperation, procurement projects, and supply chains for security-relevant goods require resilient aviation infrastructure. This applies in particular to regions with key industrial and defence capabilities.
The partial reversal of the aviation tax increase introduced during the previous federal coalition government is a positive first step, but it does not yet constitute a turning point. Germany needs an immediate programme to secure hub connectivity for its federal regions.
