Germany’s long-haul business travellers finally have some tail-wind. New figures from the Federal Statistics Office show that 68.5 million passengers flew out of German airports between April and October 2025 – a 4.6 percent increase on the same period last year. Yet the headline number remains 2.8 percent below the record summer of 2019, underlining how slowly Europe’s largest economy has clawed back international traffic compared with its neighbours. Across the EU, passenger volumes have already moved three percent above the pre-pandemic baseline.
Frankfurt and Munich, the country’s two global hubs, felt the gap most acutely. Airlines cite a mix of lingering corporate travel caution, higher ticket prices and the continuing pull of Amsterdam and Istanbul for connecting traffic. The weakness has direct implications for Germany’s export-led companies: fewer direct long-haul frequencies mean longer routings for executives, higher freight rates for time-critical cargo and tougher competition for international talent that values nonstop flights.
![German outbound air travel rebounds, but still lags 2019 – Berlin cuts ticket tax and ATC fees to accelerate recovery]()
Berlin has responded with an aviation support package negotiated by the “Ampel 2.0” coalition last month. From 1 January 2026 the unpopular long-haul ticket tax will drop from €70.83 to €58.06 per passenger, shaving roughly €50 off a typical return fare for an intercontinental business-class seat. Air-traffic-control fees will be trimmed by more than ten percent in graduated steps through 2029, while federal police have been authorised to introduce quicker walk-through scanners at secondary airports modelled on Frankfurt’s pilot project. The Interior Ministry is simultaneously rewriting security-checkpoint regulations to allow private operators to handle lane staffing – a move airports say will cut queues by a quarter.
Business-travel managers welcome the relief but warn it must be paired with structural change. “Germany needs a globally competitive home-market cost base or carriers will simply redeploy capacity to Spain, Turkey or Dubai,” said Stefanie Schulz-Richter, chair of the German Business Travel Association (VDR). Lufthansa Group, which still operates 60 percent of Germany’s long-haul seats, reiterated that stable regulation is the pre-condition for adding frequencies to Asia-Pacific growth markets.
For mobility professionals the message is twofold: budget 2026 airfares slightly lower for itineraries originating in Germany, and watch for timetable adjustments next spring as carriers decide where to deploy newly delivered wide-bodies. With tax and fee relief locked in, analysts expect Germany’s outbound numbers to close the remaining 2.8 percent gap to 2019 by the end of next summer – assuming macro-economic headwinds do not intensify.
Frankfurt and Munich, the country’s two global hubs, felt the gap most acutely. Airlines cite a mix of lingering corporate travel caution, higher ticket prices and the continuing pull of Amsterdam and Istanbul for connecting traffic. The weakness has direct implications for Germany’s export-led companies: fewer direct long-haul frequencies mean longer routings for executives, higher freight rates for time-critical cargo and tougher competition for international talent that values nonstop flights.
Berlin has responded with an aviation support package negotiated by the “Ampel 2.0” coalition last month. From 1 January 2026 the unpopular long-haul ticket tax will drop from €70.83 to €58.06 per passenger, shaving roughly €50 off a typical return fare for an intercontinental business-class seat. Air-traffic-control fees will be trimmed by more than ten percent in graduated steps through 2029, while federal police have been authorised to introduce quicker walk-through scanners at secondary airports modelled on Frankfurt’s pilot project. The Interior Ministry is simultaneously rewriting security-checkpoint regulations to allow private operators to handle lane staffing – a move airports say will cut queues by a quarter.
Business-travel managers welcome the relief but warn it must be paired with structural change. “Germany needs a globally competitive home-market cost base or carriers will simply redeploy capacity to Spain, Turkey or Dubai,” said Stefanie Schulz-Richter, chair of the German Business Travel Association (VDR). Lufthansa Group, which still operates 60 percent of Germany’s long-haul seats, reiterated that stable regulation is the pre-condition for adding frequencies to Asia-Pacific growth markets.
For mobility professionals the message is twofold: budget 2026 airfares slightly lower for itineraries originating in Germany, and watch for timetable adjustments next spring as carriers decide where to deploy newly delivered wide-bodies. With tax and fee relief locked in, analysts expect Germany’s outbound numbers to close the remaining 2.8 percent gap to 2019 by the end of next summer – assuming macro-economic headwinds do not intensify.
