The Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), the main aviation gateway to and from the German capital, is expecting as many as 27 million passengers this year, up from 2024’s 25.5 million travellers, its chief executive said.
Last year’s figures would amount to about a 10% increase over the 2023 figures, BER chief executive Aletta von Massenbach told dpa.
But this year’s expected traffic of between 26 million and 27 million passengers depends on geopolitical conflicts and crises, as well as economic developments, the chairwoman of the Management Board of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH said.
Ryanair to cut BER offerings this summer
However, passengers flying Ryanair to BER will likely not be part of the increase as the low-cost Irish airline is reducing its BER offerings.
“The high government taxes and fees in Germany will also lead to a loss of connectivity, and thus to only moderate growth in air traffic,” von Massenbach said, noting that Ryanair plans to cut its Berlin capacity by 20% starting this summer, due to high costs.
Air traffic in Germany has reportedly recovered very slowly from the coronavirus crisis compared to other European countries. The industry mainly blames the high, state-induced fees and taxes for this.
Numbers for 2024 above predictions
Still, von Massenbach expressed satisfaction with BER traffic in 2024, noting that figures are expected to exceed expectations.
“We are above the German average with this growth,” she said.
Source: dpa.com