Ryanair has attributed Germany’s slow aviation recovery to high government taxes and fees, which the airline claims are hampering growth in the sector. In a recent statement, Ryanair pointed out that German air traffic is at 77% of pre-pandemic levels as of January, making it “the worst performing aviation market in Europe.” This assessment comes despite other countries having exceeded their pre-COVID traffic figures.
Eddie Wilson, CEO of Ryanair, expressed concern over the situation: “Ryanair’s German traffic update for January shows that the German aviation market is collapsing, particularly at airports where Ryanair has canceled flights for summer 2025. In January, German air traffic collapsed to a shameful 77% of pre-COVID levels, due to the very high cost of access in Germany.”
Wilson highlighted that these costs include government taxes and airport fees averaging €15.53 ($16.25) per passenger in Germany. By contrast, nations like Hungary, Ireland, and Poland have removed such taxes and seen their traffic exceed pre-pandemic levels. According to Ryanair, this difference illustrates how Germany’s failure to reduce access costs is impeding its recovery.
“While Germany continues to see a dramatic decline in air traffic,” Wilson stated, “other EU countries have abolished taxes and reduced access costs to stimulate traffic, thereby recording traffic growth and tourism.” He further emphasized that while some regional airports with lower costs are experiencing growth, overall recovery remains sluggish compared to other markets.
The ongoing issues in Germany’s aviation sector have been noted by Ryanair for several years. Simple Flying reported back in April 2023 that Germany was the only major unrecovered market for Ryanair at the time. The carrier’s scheduling data reveals it plans fewer flights within Germany this year compared to 2019.
Despite planning 108,640 flights offering nearly 21 million seats within or involving Germany this year, these numbers fall short of those from before the pandemic when they scheduled over 114 thousand flights offering more than 21 million seats.
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