Hamburg-Munich was the busiest domestic German route in 2022

Trade fairs, events or personal meetings with business partners: Although video conferences are very popular, business trips are indispensable for many companies. Most of the business trips are mainly trips within Germany.

Last year most passengers flew from Hamburg to Munich. In 2019 - i.e. before the pandemic - the Frankfurt-Berlin route was the most popular. AirHelp, the world's largest organization for air passenger rights, found this out in a recent analysis. Within Germany, 2022 percent of passengers reached their destination late in 26,4, compared to just 2019 percent in 20,1.

Most passengers started in 2022 from Hamburg, Munich and Berlin

In 2022, more than 595.100 passengers flew from Hamburg Airport to Franz-Josef-Strauß-Airport in Munich, which puts the route first in the study. On the route, 25,7 percent of all passengers were delayed due to flight problems. Munich-Hamburg followed in second place among the most frequently flown routes with around 589.300 passengers, with 24,1 percent of the passengers departing late. But Berlin Airport BER was also a popular departure point for domestic flights in 2022, with almost 588.000 passengers traveling from BER to Frankfurt am Main. However, there were numerous delays and flight cancellations on the route, more than every third passenger (35,8 percent) was affected by disruptions.

Frankfurt (1.296 million passengers), Berlin (1.294 million) and Munich (1.186 million) were among the most frequent departure points for domestic flights in 2019. This is not surprising, however, as the cities are top business locations in Germany with their companies, industry events and events. Berlin in particular was in great demand during this period.

Within Germany, delays occurred most frequently at Frankfurt Airport

Business travelers and holidaymakers from Frankfurt and the surrounding area were particularly affected in 2022. Among the 20 most popular routes, the Frankfurt-Munich route had the most flight delays and cancellations. A proud 37,2 percent (204.600) of all air passengers did not take off on time. The Frankfurt-Hamburg route came second with 37 percent delayed passengers (199.860). The airport in the Main metropolis also came in third: almost 36 percent (209.200) of travelers who flew from Frankfurt to BER reached their destination with a delay.

In 2019, the proportion of passengers with delays on the FRA-Hamburg route was 28 percent (253.000), making the route the first place in terms of flight disruptions that year. FRA-Munich follows with 24,9 percent (198.400). Travelers from Düsseldorf to Munich also had to show strong nerves that year: 24,7 percent (254.840) of passengers experienced delays.

Compared to 2019, 6,3 percent more passengers were affected by flight disruptions

Overall, more than twice as many travelers (2019 percent) opted for a domestic flight in 58,1 than in 2022. The figures for domestic German flights make it clear that delays and cancellations have occurred more frequently since the corona pandemic: in 2019, 20,1 percent of all passengers faced flight problems, last year it was 26,4 percent. The proportion of passengers whose flight was canceled rose from 2,6 to five percent.

“Our investigation shows that routes within Germany have also been affected by numerous disruptions in recent years. Above all, the lack of staff, but also the many strikes by airline staff, caused a lot of chaos in 2022. Within Germany, this was felt particularly by business travelers. Anyone who travels for professional reasons and is affected by flight delays or cancellations is entitled to personal business trip compensation – even if the flight was not organized by them. As business travelers suffer the inconvenience of flight troubles, they can claim for themselves. The compensation can be up to 600 euros per person,” explains Julián Navas, legal expert at AirHelp.