The airline Condor has announced that it will reduce its flight offering from Hamburg Airport by 2025 percent in summer 13. The reason for this is the significantly increased location costs triggered by a planned increase in airport fees. Popular holiday destinations such as Samos in Greece and Málaga in Spain are affected, and their connections will be completely canceled. Flights to Kos will also be significantly reduced, while Condor is also abandoning planned growth with new destinations.
Peter Gerber, CEO of Condor, describes the adjustments as a logical consequence of the "completely disproportionate" increase in airport fees, which is forcing Condor not only to reduce capacity but also to cancel planned expansions. In addition, price increases for remaining flights are unavoidable. According to Gerber, it is particularly regrettable that the developments could not be prevented despite possible solutions, as the airport is not willing to reach an agreement with users.
The situation in Hamburg is not only challenging for Condor. Other airlines such as Ryanair and Eurowings had previously announced that they would be reducing their connections from Hamburg. Ryanair plans to reduce its offering by 60 percent, while Eurowings is cancelling over 1.000 flights. These developments could also have negative consequences for the labor market, as numerous jobs that are directly or indirectly related to the canceled flights are at risk.
Airport operators are defending themselves against the airlines' accusations. Hamburg Airport CEO Christian Kunsch explained that the increase in airport fees only accounts for a small part of the airlines' total costs - around 4 to 6 percent. The doubling of the costs for air traffic control, aviation security and air traffic tax, on the other hand, represents the greater financial pressure. Nevertheless, the planned fee increases are necessary to cover rising energy and personnel costs.
The developments in Hamburg illustrate the growing economic challenges facing the aviation industry in Germany. Last but not least, Peter Gerber, who is also President of the Association of German Airlines (BDF), stressed that there is an urgent need to make the cost structure at German airports sustainably competitive. This is also a task for politicians in order to ensure the competitiveness of Germany as an aviation location.
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