It was late, but the German government recognized that the current situation in the aviation industry is having a massive impact. So far, apart from Lufthansa, they have been very reluctant to give state aid. Now some measures are being examined as to how one can take the industry under the wings.

Until a few days ago, the top of the Federal Republic of Germany was negative about the rapid tests proposed by airports and airlines. Now you take a look at the concept and at least vaguely - without giving further details - the prospect that easier entry is being considered. In the long-haul area, they want to negotiate with some countries and create "Safe Travel Corridors". How this will work exactly, however, is still to be hoped and will first be evaluated with other countries. The Handelsblatt first reported on the corresponding plans. The German Ministry of Transport confirmed the article on request.

Not much is known about the schedule, because negotiations are not due to begin until the beginning of December 2020 - initially within the ministries. The "Aviation Billion" announced by Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) is to flow to German air traffic control and the airports. The name of the new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport is also mentioned, which only recently caused a sensation with a threat of closure.

It is still unclear which airport should receive how much money. In the background there is a skirmish about how much the individual federal states have to contribute. The Ministry of Transport is currently thinking that half will have to be raised by the federal government and the other half by the states. Accordingly, Scheuer's aviation billion would be reduced to half a billion euros in real terms, because the rest could be contributed by the federal states. That would lead to a compromise, because Finance Minister Olaf Scholz recently said that when it comes to airports he primarily sees the owners, i.e. in most cases the federal states, responsible.

According to the Handelsblatt, DFS will receive around 300 million euros from the federal budget. This is to be done by increasing the share capital. Deutsche Flugsicherung is also suffering a heavy drop in sales due to the reduced traffic. So far, only Lufthansa has received money from the state in Germany. Airports, other airlines and DFS are still waiting for an aid package. The airline Tuifly was indirectly supported by aid worth billions for the parent company Tui and Condor was granted two loans.