BDF: Germany's state location costs to reach record high in 2025
Federal Association of German Airlines (BDF) warned (11-Dec-2024) state location costs in Germany will reach a record high in 2025, reflected in the seat capacities offered for 1H2025. The association stated air security fees at many German airports will rise by up to 50% from 01-Jan-2025 following the increase in the fee cap for sovereign air security controls, resulting in increases of EUR10 to up to EUR15 at airports such as Cologne/Bonn Airport, Stuttgart Airport or Hannover Airport. MD Michael Engel noted competition distortion between airports will also increase, with fees ranging from EUR8.71 at Nuremberg Albrecht Durer Airport to EUR15 at Dresden Airport. In addition, BDF outlined Germany is also threatened by Deutsche Flugsicherung (DFS) air traffic control fee increases, set to rise by over 40% in 2025, despite already rising over 100% in the last five years. Mr Engel stated that as a result, "Germany will have the third most expensive air traffic control in Europe for arrival and departure", behind Switzerland and Romania. He continued: "We will probably fall back to second to last place in Europe in the post-pandemic traffic recovery in the new year and will even be overtaken by Finland", adding: "The gap to the rest of Europe is getting bigger and bigger". [more - original PR - German]
Background ✨
Germany's aviation sector faced significant challenges due to high state location costs, with international airlines relocating services and reducing offerings, impacting connectivity1 2. The German Aviation Association reported that air traffic growth in Germany was predicted to lag behind other European countries, with annual increases of only 1.7% expected from 2025 to 20293. Despite a 7% increase in seat capacity for summer 2024, Germany's recovery still lagged compared to other European nations4.