Air traffic to and from Germany is expected to reach around 78% of pre-coronavirus pandemic levels in the first half of 2023.

From January to June 2023, the number of seats offered by airlines on all flights to, from and within Germany will total 107.7 million, the industry association BDL announced on Friday. This represents growth of 20 percent compared to the first half of 2022. The strongest recovery compared to pre-crisis levels is seen on long-haul routes, where traffic to and from North America is the most important driver. "An expected increase in China traffic as a result of the lifting of the entry quarantine is not yet visible in the current data."

This means that Germany is lagging behind developments in Europe, where the number of seats available has already reached 91% again compared to 2019, as the German Aviation Association (BDL) explained. The recovery of domestic air traffic in Germany, on the other hand, continues to stagnate at only 56% of 2019. "The shift of traffic to road and rail is one of the factors making itself felt here."

Traffic volumes at Germany's largest airport hub in Frankfurt will develop at an above-average rate over the next six months. Compared to the first half of 2019, 84% more seats will be offered there. The reason for this is the particularly strong recovery in intercontinental traffic: "Frankfurt is the most important location in Germany for transfer passengers on long-haul flights." The number of seats available at the second important hub in Munich is 76% of the pre-corona level.

The supply at other major airports such as Düsseldorf and Hamburg is below average. Berlin in particular is lagging far behind, with seat availability at only 61% of the pre-crisis level. This is due, among other things, to high location costs, a significant reduction in the supply of so-called point-to-point airlines such as the low-cost carriers Ryanair and Easyjet, as well as the further shift of traffic to road and rail. From 2021 to 2022, the number of passengers at the capital's BER airport doubled to 19.85 million, according to the operating company FBB. Before the coronavirus crisis, however, Berlin had around 36 million travelers.

Regional airports such as Dortmund, Hahn, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden, Memmingen and Niederrhein/Weeze are recovering comparatively well. According to BDL, they are benefiting from the expansion of the presence of low-cost airlines at smaller locations. The number of seats available in Memmingen in the first half of 2023 was 148% higher than in the same period in 2019.

(Report by Klaus Lauer; edited by Jörn Poltz. - If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)