Without triumphalism, but nevertheless with a healthy dose of optimism. This is what the press release from the German Airports Association ADV suggests, as it has just presented its traffic forecasts for the year ahead. The association expects passenger traffic to grow by around 4.2% this year. This is 0.7 points higher than the growth in air traffic over the first eleven months of 2025. This would enable all German airports to return to a level of traffic comparable to 91% in 2019, the year before Covid. In November 2025, this level was 87.5%.
However, this result is only deemed possible if the right transport policy guidelines are in place to overcome the obstacles to mobility. Germany's inherent structural disadvantages. In particular, by reducing the charges linked to air activity that the Merz government has promised to introduce. This reduction in the tax on air transport is announced for 1 July 2026.
According to ADV Managing Director Ralph Beisel, " ADV sees encouraging signs for 2026, driven by stable demand and adjustments to fiscal policy. For the new year, we are forecasting 225 million passengers at our member airports. Germany's aviation sector is growing, but remains structurally disadvantaged" he says.
And Ralph Beisel adds: " New tax relief measures and lower charges are needed to get airlines to resume new routes at German airports. But confidence is returning: after a long period of political inertia, new thinking is underway. Airports are recognised for what they are - strategic infrastructures of considerable economic importance." .
The German airports hope that the government will look at other avenues during the year to give the air transport sector a new impetus. In detail, the ADV experts estimate that the number of passengers on domestic routes will increase by 2.9 % in 2026; that Europe will benefit most from this upturn in traffic, with growth of 5.21 %. And the number of passengers will increase by 3.1 %. Growth will be driven mainly by the leisure and private travel markets.
ADV forecasts are based mainly on airline flight plans, changes in demand and, finally, greater capacity as a result of the reduction in the number of aircraft grounded due to engine problems.
