German air traffic continues to decline in June – 13% below pre-COVID levels - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

Ryanair, Europe’s No. 1 airline, released its German traffic update for June today (17 July), confirming Germany's position as the weakest aviation market in Europe. The reason: excessively high access costs, including taxes, air traffic control charges, security fees, and airport fees. Berlin Airport, affected by a night flight ban, reached only 71% of pre-COVID traffic levels, while other major airports such as Stuttgart (77%), Cologne (78%), Hamburg (84%), and Düsseldorf (85%) continue to struggle. The government’s failure to reduce access charges is hindering recovery and slowing growth. Meanwhile, expensive and struggling regional airports like Dresden (62%) and Leipzig (72%) have seen further declines following Ryanair’s withdrawal.

Following Ryanair’s decision to reduce operations in Germany for the summer of 2025, German air traffic slumped even further—making it the worst-performing aviation market in Europe, with recovery at just 87% of pre-COVID levels.

This failure by the German government to lower exorbitant access costs stands in stark contrast to EU countries such as Ireland, Hungary, and Poland, which have reduced access charges and scrapped aviation taxes to support post-COVID recovery.

Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, stated:

“Our June traffic figures for Germany once again show a continued downward trend, with traffic well below pre-COVID levels—especially at high-cost airports like Berlin, where Ryanair has reduced capacity, and Dresden and Leipzig, where we will cease operations from summer 2025. The government’s inaction continues to damage the country’s major airports, including Stuttgart, Cologne, Hamburg, and Düsseldorf, undermining both recovery and future growth.

Ryanair once again urges the new German government to eliminate the damaging aviation tax and reduce air traffic control and security charges in order to revive Germany’s collapsing aviation sector and wider economy. If this happens, Ryanair is prepared to double its traffic in Germany to 34 million passengers per year and invest $3 billion in new aircraft, new routes, and 1,000 jobs—just as we have already done in other European markets where governments have scrapped aviation taxes and cut access costs to attract airline investment.”

Image Credit: © AA