After Ryanair, the Lufthansa subsidiary is now also massively canceling flights to and from Hamburg. The reason is the increase in airport fees in Fuhlsbüttel.
This is the next setback for Hamburg Airport and for passengers looking for affordable flights. Eurowings is reducing its offering by more than 1,000 flights – an estimated loss of 150,000 to 200,000 passengers. This is “a first step,” said Eurowings boss Jens Bischof on Thursday. The connection to Cologne-Bonn will be discontinued for the 2025 summer flight schedule. In addition, Eurowings will no longer fly to Santorini in Greece and Keflavik in Iceland. This also applies to four other destinations in Europe and North Africa. Bishop has not yet said what these are.
Supply is becoming scarcer
In the future, passengers will probably have to take Deutsche Bahn instead to reach their destination. The most serious consequence, however, is a foreseeable increase in the price of other flights from Hamburg. Because the tighter the supply, the higher the price becomes.
Criticism of higher wages
Bischof justified the cuts with rising costs: “The airport’s plans for a completely disproportionate increase in fees leave us no choice.” He added that the reduced offer will significantly weaken Hamburg’s connections and make flying noticeably more expensive.
Hamburg Airport regrets Eurowings announcement
Hamburg Airport regrets the move. Airport boss Christian Kunsch said he could “in no way understand” Eurowings’ accusation of overly expensive airport fees. What is currently planned would increase the cost of a flight from Hamburg by around 2.30 euros per passenger. Hamburg’s airport is on a par with Düsseldorf, Stuttgart and Berlin.
It was only on Thursday that Ryanair announced the cancellation of around 2,000 Hamburg flights.
CDU: “Serious blow for business location”
CDU member of the Bundestag Christoph Ploß sees the airlines’ announcements as a “severe blow for Hamburg as a business location.” The Berlin traffic light has just increased the air traffic tax and now risks the loss of thousands of jobs in German aviation, said Ploß.
This topic in the program:
NDR 90.3 | NDR 90.3 Current | Oct 11, 2024 | 11:00 a.m
