Irish airline Ryanair has congratulated the new German Transport Minister, Patrick Schnieder, on his appointment and reiterated its call for the federal government to abolish the air traffic tax and halve air traffic control and security fees. Ryanair argues that these measures are necessary to save what it sees as a "collapsing" German aviation market.
The airline promised that if these demands were met, it would implement a previously presented growth plan. This plan envisages investments of three billion US dollars in new, more efficient aircraft that would be based in Germany. Ryanair would also create over 1.000 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew, and technicians and offer new routes across Europe, increasing international connectivity. Under this scenario, Ryanair forecasts a doubling of passenger traffic in Germany to 34 million passengers per year.
Ryanair criticizes the high access costs to the German aviation market, which consist of the air traffic tax, air traffic control and security fees, and airport charges. This makes Germany the worst-performing aviation market in Europe. While the government welcomes the plan to reverse the increase in the air traffic tax, it argues that this is not enough to restore Germany's competitiveness compared to other EU countries that are further reducing their access costs through tax abolition. Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson called on Minister Schnieder to abolish the "harmful" air traffic tax to revitalize the German aviation market, citing examples such as Sweden, Hungary, and parts of Italy, where similar steps have been taken.
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