Germany's airline industry is facing challenges. Despite the ongoing wait for sector recovery, the Federal Association of the German Airline Industry (BDL) has taken a firm stance. The General Director of BDL, Matthias von Randow, stated that the high costs are a significant burden on companies and are causing the German airline industry to fall behind. He believes a moratorium on air transport charges is necessary, and public charges must not increase.
Based on the latest BDL figures, German airports now offer significantly fewer direct flights to European destinations than before the pandemic. The number of what's known as "point-to-point" flights is about 50 % lower than that of other European airports. When asked about this issue, a representative from Greenpeace in France suggested that the delay in resuming these flights may also be due to the challenges of restarting business aviation in Germany.
4000 euros tax per flight in Germany
One of the primary reasons for the vanishing of flight offers is the significant surge in state establishment expenses in Germany. Compared to Paris or Madrid, state taxes for a typical A320 medium-haul airplane are already three to four times higher, or up to 4,000 euros per flight.
The BDL is against the proposal to remove the ten-euro cap on aviation security taxes for passenger and baggage screening. They also believe that the 1.1 billion euro deficit accumulated by Deutsche Flugsicherung during the coronavirus period should not be transferred to the airlines. Like the National Federation of Aviation and its Trade in France, the aviation sector hopes to receive support for the transition to climate-neutral engines. Air traffic taxes, which amount to billions, should be utilized to achieve this goal.