1st May translated into Germany by the introduction of a new increase in air taxes for passengerss. And it's consistent: +19%This tax now ranges from €15.53 to €70.83, depending on the route.
This increase has sent airlines into a frenzy. " At a time when Germany's economic performance is anaemic at best, weakening its competitiveness by increasing aviation taxes is political madness. The government should prioritise measures to improve Germany's competitive position and to encourage trade and travel. Instead, he opted for a short-term drain that can only be detrimental to the long-term growth of the economy" said Willie Walsh, Director General of IATA.
This new increase is likely to slow the recovery of German air transport from the pandemic even further. German air traffic in recovery remains in the background compared with the rest of the European Union. According to figures from the German Airport Association ADV, passenger numbers were still more than 20% lower in 2023 than in 2019the last year before Covid. In 2023, Germany recorded 197.2 million passengers, compared with 248.06 million in 2019.
German domestic traffic in freefall
The figures are even worse for domestic traffic. The continuing rise in taxes is combined with a reduction in supply and the reluctance of Germans to take domestic flights. ADV recorded the following figures for airports 23.1 million domestic passengers last year. Let 50% less than in 2019 (46.18 million passengers)!
A Berlin for example, passenger volume on domestic routes fell by 64% between 2019 and 2023, falling from 8.27 million to 2.98 million. The same applies to Düsseldorf where the number of passengers on domestic routes has fallen from 4.2 million in 2019 to 1.6 million in 2023, a fall of 62%.
In an interview with the German business daily Handelsblatt, the CEO of Lufthansa Carsten Spohrexplained that the consequences of rising costs in Germany were taking increasingly concrete forms. "They result in line suspension. For example between Frankfurt and Friedrichshafen or between Leipzig and Munich [...] Despite the needs of business passengers, these routes are no longer financially justified due to rising operating costs. And believe me: I deplore this because it affects the attractiveness of Germany".
And he goes on to say : "The cost of using air infrastructure in Germany has risen by 80% in just a few years.. So we can no longer afford to operate low-revenue routes. Less than a quarter of our turnover comes from domestic routes today".
A financially strapped government according to IATA
For IATA, the tax increase could hamper efforts to decarbonise the industry. The German government's coalition agreement originally stipulated that the revenue from aviation taxes would directly finance the production of green fuel (SAF), but according to IATA, this commitment has not been honoured. By weakening German air transport with this tax, airlines will find it harder to invest in SAF. Or in a more fuel-efficient fleet and other decarbonisation efforts.
" The German government seems to have an unhealthy obsession with aviation taxes. As well as increasing the tax on passengers, he is also in favour of a European tax on paraffin, which will make business trips to Germany or holidays even more expensive. Our survey of air travellers in Germany shows deep scepticism about the "green taxes" called for by governments. 75 % agree with the statement "Taxation is not the way to make aviation sustainable". and 72 % agree with the statement "Green taxes are just greenwashing by governments" analysed Willie Walsh.
