Airlines are complaining and there are fears about the decline in Germany’s attractiveness economy

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr expects further cuts in scheduled German flight schedules and expressed concerns that this could harm the country’s attractiveness to foreign investors, in comments to Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

“I am very concerned about Germany’s connectivity as a business location,” Spohr told the newspaper. “The excessive increase in government costs for air transport is leading to a further decline in supply. More and more airlines are avoiding German airports or canceling important flights.”

Irish airline Ryanair and Eurowings, a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group, recently canceled several flights, citing high costs at German airports.

The aviation industry has been complaining for months about increased costs such as flight fees, an increase in the air traffic tax, which was imposed last May, and fees for security screening and air traffic control.

“We cannot continue to stand by while Germany lags behind as an air traffic location, flights are increasingly reduced, and the costs of remaining flights rise,” Spohr said.

He criticized additional government regulations already planned, saying: “A decision has already been made to implement more individual national routes. For the coming years, for example, to use a certain share of electric fuel, of which there are not yet sufficient quantities.”

He stressed that “as a result, the quality of Germany’s connectivity to many important economic regions is declining compared to other countries.”

Measures to enhance air traffic

For its part, the German Airports Association (ADV) calls on the federal government to take rapid steps to enhance air traffic.

In statements to the German News Agency, the Federation’s CEO, Ralf Beisel, said, “Germany’s development as a location for air traffic is in decline compared to the level of 2013. We are no longer able to compete. When will Berlin wake up?”

For its part, the Christian Union, which leads the opposition in Germany, made similar statements. The Christian Union consists of the Christian Democratic Party and its younger brother, the Bavarian Christian Social Party.

Anya Karletsk, spokeswoman for the Union Parliamentary Bloc for Tourism Affairs, said, “The government’s actions have exceeded the limit, especially in recent years,” demanding that the government, among other things, cancel the recent increase in the air traffic tax.