Ryanair has announced on that it will slash its German flight offerings for summer 2025 by an additional 12%. The move, announced on 10 October 2024, will mean a reduction of 1.8 million seats and 22 routes.
The airline has cited German government shortcomings for the network cuts. It says the ongoing failure to lower air traffic tax, security, and air traffic control fees is hampering recovery and growth.
Cuts Across German Bases and Network
The airline plans to shut down its bases in Dortmund, Dresden, and Leipzig while reducing its Hamburg operations by 60%. This will result in cutting 22 routes for summer 2025. The loss of 1.8 million seats will significantly impact jobs, tourism, and connectivity.
Germany now ranks as the worst-performing aviation market post-Covid, with only 82% of 2019 traffic levels restored.
German travelers now face the highest airfares in Europe, following Lufthansa’s €6 billion bailout. Germany’s performance contrasts sharply with other EU countries like Sweden, Italy, Hungary, and Poland. These nations are reducing costs to boost post-Covid aviation recovery and growth.
Ryanair’s Appeal to German Government
Ryanair has urged Transport Minister Volker Wissing and the entire government to take immediate action. The airline called for lowering costs and fixing Germany’s struggling aviation system by abolishing air traffic tax, cutting air traffic control fees (+100% since 2019).
It has also urged postponing the 50% increase in security fee caps (from January 2025) to prevent further cuts in summer 2025.
Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson stated, “Germany has only recovered 82% of its pre-Covid traffic, making it by far the worst performing aviation market in Europe.”
“Due to high government taxes and charges (the highest in Europe) and Lufthansa’s high-price monopoly, German citizens and visitors now pay the highest airfares in Europe.”
The airline will end all operations in Dortmund, Dresden, and Leipzig while reducing flights in Hamburg by 60%, resulting in 1.8 million fewer seats.
Wilson pointed to Germany’s EU competitors, where Ryanair was expanding due to pragmatic cost-reduction decisions. Germany, by comparison, is losing capacity for summer 2025, and its citizens pay the highest airfares in Europe.
Fees in Dispute
Ryanair proposed a 7-year growth plan to double German traffic from 16 million to 34 million passengers, but received no response from federal or state governments. This refusal to promote growth at German airports is short-sighted, says Ryanair. The airline has signalled that it is ready to expand significantly in Germany.
However, rising fees are causing this capacity to shift to other EU countries. The low-cost carrier said that lower costs were crucial for Germany to recover its pre-Covid traffic level.
It called on Minister Wissing must act promptly to prevent German citizens from continuing to pay the highest airfares in Europe in the worst-recovering aviation market.
In summary, Ryanair attributes its decision to cut flights to the German government, citing high taxes and fees as the main factor. The airline calls for government action to reduce costs and enhance Germany’s competitiveness in the aviation market.
Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly newsleter.
Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!
