Domestic flights in Germany will remain well below pre-coronavirus pandemic levels as overall air traffic has fallen, according to an analysis by the aviation industry association BDL released on Thursday.
Flight schedules for the first six months of 2025 include only 50% as many seats on domestic flights in Germany compared to 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.
The total number of seats on flights to and from Germany, scheduled from January to June 2025, is at 86% of pre-pandemic levels, according to BDL.
Flights from Germany to other European destinations now have 91% of pre-pandemic seat numbers, while flights to other continents are at 96%.
Outside Germany, the number of available seats in Europe is now 7% higher than before the crisis.
Airlines, airports and industry lobby groups have blamed the slump on a sharp increase in taxes and fees.
Airports in the German cities of Dresden (down 49% compared to 2019), Stuttgart (down 70%) and Berlin (down 70%) have seen flight capacity drop particularly sharply.
Smaller regional airports used by budget airline Ryanair have now seen enormous capacity growth compared to 2019. The Irish budget airline is increasingly flying to smaller airports, where high taxes and levies are at least partially offset by lower handling costs.
The boom is led by the small town of Memmingen, about 115 kilometers west of Munich, which is expected to have 197% more flight seats than in 2019.
