Luftverkehr: Weniger Fluggäste - Flughafenverband senkt Prognose

The Flughafenverband ADV has lowered its expectations and now anticipates fewer passengers will use German airports this year compared to last. The association had already revised its estimate downwards in April. At the start of the year, the ADV predicted a 4.2% increase in the number of German passengers compared to the previous year, forecasting around 225 million.

Now, they are projecting about 217 million passengers, which is a 1.4% decrease from last year. Senior Executive Ralph Beisel stated that the small increase in July does not mask the fact that the German air transport location is stagnating. He added that high state location costs and difficult economic conditions are preventing airlines from adding more capacity to German airports.

According to the ADV, the Iran war is not the sole explanation for this development. However, it is not solely due to this external crisis, as shown by a comparison with Europe. Beisel noted that Germany starts with a significant competitive disadvantage in every crisis. Even with a reduction in air traffic taxes, the state location costs for German airports remain significantly higher than the European average.

Each flight to a European destination incurs an average of €4,449 in taxes and fees at a German airport, compared to €2,326 across Europe. Germany needs to return to frameworks where airlines use additional aircraft and build routes here. Beisel emphasized that every connection lost to another European location weakens Germany's international reach and thus its economic location.