Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr expects further reductions in German flight schedules and expressed fears in a comment to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that this could damage the country’s appeal to foreign investors.
“I’m very concerned about the connectivity of [Germany as a] business location,” Spohr told the newspaper.
“The extreme increase in state costs for air transport leads to a further decline in supply. More and more airlines are avoiding German airports or canceling important connections,” he added.
Ryanair and Lufthansa’s subsidiary Eurowings recently canceled numerous flights due to high costs at German airports.
The aviation industry has been complaining for months about high costs such as air fares, an increase in air traffic tax introduced in May and charges for security checks and air traffic control.
Spohr criticized further future German regulations, such as a blending quota for e-fuels, despite the fact that they are not yet available in sufficient quantities.
He warned that this would reduce the quality of German connectivity to key economic regions, compared to other international locations.
E-fuels are synthetically produced, carbon-based fuels aimed at reducing climate-damaging CO2 emissions from aircraft.
Air traffic industry association BDL advocates using the proceeds from the increased air traffic tax to promote alternative aviation fuels, as laid down in the coalition agreement of the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
