German Air Travel Lags Behind – Still 10% Below Pre-COVID Levels - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Ryanair, Europe’s leading airline, has released its German traffic update for April, confirming that Germany remains the weakest-performing aviation market in Europe. The airline attributes this trend to excessively high access costs—comprising taxes, air traffic control charges, security fees, and airport fees.

Airports with particularly high operating costs, such as Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg—where Ryanair has reduced its flight offerings—continue to operate well below pre-pandemic levels, despite the traditionally busy Easter travel period.

According to Ryanair, the former German government’s failure to reduce these access costs is stalling recovery and hindering growth. Following the airline’s decision to cut summer 2025 capacity, Germany’s air traffic has declined further and now operates at just 90% of pre-COVID levels. This is in stark contrast to countries like Ireland, Hungary, and Poland, which have actively lowered access costs and scrapped air travel taxes to stimulate post-pandemic recovery.

Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, stated:

“Our April figures make it clear—air traffic in Germany is in free fall, still far below pre-COVID levels, especially at high-cost airports like Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg, where we’ve reduced summer 2025 flights.

Ryanair urges the new German government to scrap the damaging air travel tax and reduce air traffic control and security fees to revive Germany’s collapsing aviation sector and economy. If that happens, Ryanair will more than double passenger numbers in Germany, investing $3 billion in new aircraft, new routes, and 1,000 new jobs—just as we have in other European markets where governments eliminated air taxes and reduced access costs to attract airline investment.”

Image Credit: © Ryanair