Germans turn away from domestic flights
Domestic German flights saw an unusually large drop in passengers in the first half of 2013 with strikes at the country's airports being blamed for the fall.
Around 11 million people flew domestically in Germany in the first six months of this year – a fall of six percent on the second half of last year. It was the biggest drop in passengers since the recession hit in 2009.
Published on Monday by the federal statistics office, the figures showed that flights were affected by strikes which, for the first few months of the year, saw the country's largest hubs grind repeatedly to a halt.
There was a drop of 0.5 percent in people catching flights in Germany, pushing the total to 47.4 million.
Long haul flights increased by 2.4 percent on last year, and European flights by 1.1 percent. Struggling euro states Portugal and Greece saw a noticeably large jump, with an increase of 8.8 percent and seven percent respectively.
Airport association the ADV has estimated that there will be a small growth of the number of people flying from Germany this year overall.
Yet airline companies will feel the knock-on effect of the strikes for the duration of 2013, as just six of the 22 German airlines are set to turn a profit.
Air Berlin reported last Thursday a loss of €38m from April to June this year. It cut its losses by flying fewer routes.
DPA/The Local/jcw
Comments
See Also
Around 11 million people flew domestically in Germany in the first six months of this year – a fall of six percent on the second half of last year. It was the biggest drop in passengers since the recession hit in 2009.
Published on Monday by the federal statistics office, the figures showed that flights were affected by strikes which, for the first few months of the year, saw the country's largest hubs grind repeatedly to a halt.
There was a drop of 0.5 percent in people catching flights in Germany, pushing the total to 47.4 million.
Long haul flights increased by 2.4 percent on last year, and European flights by 1.1 percent. Struggling euro states Portugal and Greece saw a noticeably large jump, with an increase of 8.8 percent and seven percent respectively.
Airport association the ADV has estimated that there will be a small growth of the number of people flying from Germany this year overall.
Yet airline companies will feel the knock-on effect of the strikes for the duration of 2013, as just six of the 22 German airlines are set to turn a profit.
Air Berlin reported last Thursday a loss of €38m from April to June this year. It cut its losses by flying fewer routes.
DPA/The Local/jcw
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.