What intercontinental flights can I get from smaller German airports?
To get direct flights to destinations outside Europe, travellers in Germany typically have to connect through Lufthansa’s Frankfurt or Munich hubs – or head to another European airport like Heathrow or Schiphol. But there are a few notable exceptions.
A highlight of living in Germany is how easy it can be to explore the rest of Europe. Whether through its extensive Autobahns, train and bus connections, and flight options at airports from Hamburg to Stuttgart – residents all over the Germany tend to have easy access to the rest of the continent.
The same isn’t always true of intercontinental travel though. While people living near Frankfurt and Munich tend to be spoiled for choice, everyone else typically has to route through somewhere. But here are a few of the options for those looking for direct options outside of the main hubs.
Munich, Vienna, or Salzburg: Which is the best airport to fly from?
Flying transatlantic
Frankfurt is the only German airport currently offering direct flights to South American destinations and most North American travellers will need to make their way through Frankfurt or Munich.
But residents of Berlin, Stuttgart, and Düsseldorf have a few options for hopping the pond directly.
Berlin is particularly well-served with direct flights to and from New York. A daily United Airlines service can take you to Newark, while John F. Kennedy Airport is accessible through seasonal flights by either Delta Airlines or Norse Atlantic. When in season from May to November, Delta’s New York-Berlin route runs daily and Norse flies it four times a week.
New York City is reachable via direct flight connections from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and Munich. Photo: AFP / Angela Weiss
In winter, Norse also runs a flight from Berlin to Miami once a week on Fridays.
For those interested in sunnier climes, Condor runs direct services anywhere between one to a three times a week direct from Düsseldorf to Caribbean destinations like Fort-de-France, La Romana, Montego Bay, and Bridgetown.
The airline also has a direct service from Düsseldorf to New York four times a week.
Finally, Delta Airlines will start up a direct service from Stuttgart to Atlanta in April 2024, running four times a week, while Canadian airline Air Transat runs a twice-weekly service from Freiburg to Montreal in summer.
LISTED: All the new direct flights to and from Germany in 2024
The Middle East and North Africa
It should probably come as no surprise that the Middle East and North Africa are fairly well-served by flights from Germany, due to obvious geographical proximity.
Even if some services only run once a week, Egypt’s resort city of Hurghada has direct connections to just about every German airport – even particularly small ones like Münster, Kassel, Erfurt, and Friedrichshafen.
Marsa Alam, also in Egypt, has connections on most days of the week to Berlin, Hanover, and Düsseldorf. Although running a little less often, passengers flying into or out of Marsa Alam can get a weekly TUI service to Leipzig, or services two three times a week to Cologne-Bonn, Stuttgart, or Nuremberg on airlines like Eurowings, Air Cairo, and Corendon.
Elsewhere in Egypt, easyJet runs services to both Giza and Sharm-el-Sheikh twice a week, while you can hop on a daily Egyptair service from Berlin to Cairo at any time of year.
Passengers headed to Tel Aviv also have several options from a variety of German airports, with both easyJet and Ryanair running daily flights from Berlin and El Al running between Israel and Germany’s largest cities six days a week.
You can also get twice-weekly Ryanair flights to Tel Aviv from Memmingen in southern Germany and three-times weekly to Karlsruhe. Eurowings serves the Tel Aviv route to Cologne three times a week while easyJet shuttles passengers from Tel Aviv to Freiburg on weekdays.
Beachgoers sunbathe on a beach in Tel Aviv on June 17, 2023. (Photo by Jewel SAMAD / AFP)
Across Israeli borders, passengers heading to and from Beirut can hitch a flight with Sundair to Bremen or with Eurowings to Hamburg once a week. Middle East also has a daily flight from Beirut to Düsseldorf, with other airlines running less frequent services.
Finally, passengers from Berlin to Beirut can use Eurowings twice a week and Sundair four times a week. Royal Jordanian also has a seasonal three-day per week service taking passengers from the German capital to Amman and runs a route twice-weekly from Amman to Düsseldorf, while Memmingen passengers can also head to the Jordanian capital three days a week using Ryanair.
Iraq and Iran-bound travellers can get direct to Erbil from Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Hamburg, and Berlin, while Iran Air has twice-weekly services from Hamburg and Cologne-Bonn to Tehran.
Travellers heading a bit further afield – perhaps to connect in Middle Eastern hubs for onward travel eastward, have quite a few options from Germany.
Qatar Airways provides passengers from Düsseldorf and Berlin with a daily connection through Doha, while Eurowings heads from Berlin to Dubai four times a week. Meanwhile, Emirates runs daily services from Hamburg and Düsseldorf to Dubai, while Stuttgarters can get a direct service to Dubai on Eurowings twice a week.
Düsseldorfers are further spoilt for choice for connections to Middle Eastern hubs, with a thrice-weekly Etihad flight running direct to Abu Dhabi three times a week.
READ ALSO: What are your rights in Germany if your flight is delayed or cancelled?
The Caucasus
Kutaisi and Tbilisi in Georgia are probably the two easiest Caucasus destinations to get to from Germany, with Wizz Air providing daily flights from Kutaisi to Memmingen in the south and to Berlin. It also runs three to four flights a week each from the Georgian resort town to Dortmund, Cologne-Bonn, and Hamburg.
Meanwhile, Eurowings has direct flights from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi to Stuttgart twice a week, Berlin once a week, and Düsseldorf four times a week. Georgian Airways also runs once or twice-weekly services to Berlin, Hanover, and Leipzig.
The Georgian capital of Tbilisi at Christmas. Photo: picture alliance / Zurab Kurtsikidze/EPA/dpa | Zurab Kurtsikidze
Although Georgia enjoys the most German connections, there are also a few direct flights available to Azerbaijan and Armenia, with Eurowings running weekly flights from both Düsseldorf and Berlin to Yerevan and a twice-weekly shuttle from Cologne-Bonn to the Armenian capital.
Finally, Wizz Air takes passengers direct from Dortmund to Yerevan four times a week, and Azerbaijan Air runs a flight between Berlin and Baku twice-weekly.
READ ALSO: Germany’s Lufthansa to launch regional airline next year
Berlin to East Asia
If you’re headed to East Asia from Germany, you’re most likely going to have to go through Frankfurt, Munich, or another hub to get there.
The one exception to this though are for travellers from Berlin, who can hop on a direct Hainan Airlines service to Beijing five times a week.
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A highlight of living in Germany is how easy it can be to explore the rest of Europe. Whether through its extensive Autobahns, train and bus connections, and flight options at airports from Hamburg to Stuttgart – residents all over the Germany tend to have easy access to the rest of the continent.
The same isn’t always true of intercontinental travel though. While people living near Frankfurt and Munich tend to be spoiled for choice, everyone else typically has to route through somewhere. But here are a few of the options for those looking for direct options outside of the main hubs.
Munich, Vienna, or Salzburg: Which is the best airport to fly from?
Flying transatlantic
Frankfurt is the only German airport currently offering direct flights to South American destinations and most North American travellers will need to make their way through Frankfurt or Munich.
But residents of Berlin, Stuttgart, and Düsseldorf have a few options for hopping the pond directly.
Berlin is particularly well-served with direct flights to and from New York. A daily United Airlines service can take you to Newark, while John F. Kennedy Airport is accessible through seasonal flights by either Delta Airlines or Norse Atlantic. When in season from May to November, Delta’s New York-Berlin route runs daily and Norse flies it four times a week.
In winter, Norse also runs a flight from Berlin to Miami once a week on Fridays.
For those interested in sunnier climes, Condor runs direct services anywhere between one to a three times a week direct from Düsseldorf to Caribbean destinations like Fort-de-France, La Romana, Montego Bay, and Bridgetown.
The airline also has a direct service from Düsseldorf to New York four times a week.
Finally, Delta Airlines will start up a direct service from Stuttgart to Atlanta in April 2024, running four times a week, while Canadian airline Air Transat runs a twice-weekly service from Freiburg to Montreal in summer.
LISTED: All the new direct flights to and from Germany in 2024
The Middle East and North Africa
It should probably come as no surprise that the Middle East and North Africa are fairly well-served by flights from Germany, due to obvious geographical proximity.
Even if some services only run once a week, Egypt’s resort city of Hurghada has direct connections to just about every German airport – even particularly small ones like Münster, Kassel, Erfurt, and Friedrichshafen.
Marsa Alam, also in Egypt, has connections on most days of the week to Berlin, Hanover, and Düsseldorf. Although running a little less often, passengers flying into or out of Marsa Alam can get a weekly TUI service to Leipzig, or services two three times a week to Cologne-Bonn, Stuttgart, or Nuremberg on airlines like Eurowings, Air Cairo, and Corendon.
Elsewhere in Egypt, easyJet runs services to both Giza and Sharm-el-Sheikh twice a week, while you can hop on a daily Egyptair service from Berlin to Cairo at any time of year.
Passengers headed to Tel Aviv also have several options from a variety of German airports, with both easyJet and Ryanair running daily flights from Berlin and El Al running between Israel and Germany’s largest cities six days a week.
You can also get twice-weekly Ryanair flights to Tel Aviv from Memmingen in southern Germany and three-times weekly to Karlsruhe. Eurowings serves the Tel Aviv route to Cologne three times a week while easyJet shuttles passengers from Tel Aviv to Freiburg on weekdays.
Across Israeli borders, passengers heading to and from Beirut can hitch a flight with Sundair to Bremen or with Eurowings to Hamburg once a week. Middle East also has a daily flight from Beirut to Düsseldorf, with other airlines running less frequent services.
Finally, passengers from Berlin to Beirut can use Eurowings twice a week and Sundair four times a week. Royal Jordanian also has a seasonal three-day per week service taking passengers from the German capital to Amman and runs a route twice-weekly from Amman to Düsseldorf, while Memmingen passengers can also head to the Jordanian capital three days a week using Ryanair.
Iraq and Iran-bound travellers can get direct to Erbil from Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Hamburg, and Berlin, while Iran Air has twice-weekly services from Hamburg and Cologne-Bonn to Tehran.
Travellers heading a bit further afield – perhaps to connect in Middle Eastern hubs for onward travel eastward, have quite a few options from Germany.
Qatar Airways provides passengers from Düsseldorf and Berlin with a daily connection through Doha, while Eurowings heads from Berlin to Dubai four times a week. Meanwhile, Emirates runs daily services from Hamburg and Düsseldorf to Dubai, while Stuttgarters can get a direct service to Dubai on Eurowings twice a week.
Düsseldorfers are further spoilt for choice for connections to Middle Eastern hubs, with a thrice-weekly Etihad flight running direct to Abu Dhabi three times a week.
READ ALSO: What are your rights in Germany if your flight is delayed or cancelled?
The Caucasus
Kutaisi and Tbilisi in Georgia are probably the two easiest Caucasus destinations to get to from Germany, with Wizz Air providing daily flights from Kutaisi to Memmingen in the south and to Berlin. It also runs three to four flights a week each from the Georgian resort town to Dortmund, Cologne-Bonn, and Hamburg.
Meanwhile, Eurowings has direct flights from the Georgian capital of Tbilisi to Stuttgart twice a week, Berlin once a week, and Düsseldorf four times a week. Georgian Airways also runs once or twice-weekly services to Berlin, Hanover, and Leipzig.
Although Georgia enjoys the most German connections, there are also a few direct flights available to Azerbaijan and Armenia, with Eurowings running weekly flights from both Düsseldorf and Berlin to Yerevan and a twice-weekly shuttle from Cologne-Bonn to the Armenian capital.
Finally, Wizz Air takes passengers direct from Dortmund to Yerevan four times a week, and Azerbaijan Air runs a flight between Berlin and Baku twice-weekly.
READ ALSO: Germany’s Lufthansa to launch regional airline next year
Berlin to East Asia
If you’re headed to East Asia from Germany, you’re most likely going to have to go through Frankfurt, Munich, or another hub to get there.
The one exception to this though are for travellers from Berlin, who can hop on a direct Hainan Airlines service to Beijing five times a week.
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