Lufthansa CEO concerned more airlines will cut German routes

German flag carrier Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has warned of further reductions in flight schedules in Germany due to high airport fees.

"I am very concerned about the connectivity of our business locations," Spohr told German newspaper Bild am Sonntag. "The extreme increase in state costs for air traffic is leading to a further decline in services. More and more airlines are avoiding German airports or canceling important connections."

Airlines such as Eurowings and Ryanair have already canceled numerous flights in Germany, citing excessively high fees. In light of this, Spohr criticized additional planned government regulations.

Declining connectivity in Germany

Lufthansa CEO said that further unilateral national measures have already been decided for the coming years — "for example, a blending quota for e-fuels, which are not yet available in sufficient quantities."

As a result, "the connectivity quality of many important economic regions is declining by international standards," Spohr said. 

The addition of synthetic fuel to kerosene is intended to reduce the climate-damaging CO2 emissions of aircraft.

Ryanair and Eurowings cut services

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair said on Thursday it would end operations at three German airports (Dortmund, Dresden and Leipzig) from summer 2025, blaming high taxes and fees for the decision.

At the same time, Ryanair's flights from the northern city of Hamburg will be cut by 60% and in the capital Berlin by 20%, as announced in August. 

Following in the footsteps of Ryanair, Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings announced on Friday that it would cancel flights in Hamburg. In a first step, more than 1,000 flights will be cut by 2025, said Jens Bischof, CEO of Eurowings.

dh/wd (AFP, Reuters)