Reasons for low supply
Long-haul flights from BER are often not economical
November 6th, 2023, 3:00 p.m
Significantly more long-haul flights have recently taken off from German airports. In comparison, relatively few of them take off from the capital airport BER. This doesn’t surprise the Federal Association of German Airlines.
From the perspective of the Federal Association of German Airlines, the small number of long-haul flights from the capital’s BER airport has economic reasons. “The demand and therefore the potential to utilize long-haul flights in an economically sensible manner is not great enough in the capital region,” said Michael Engel, managing director of the association. From the association’s perspective, this aspect is usually neglected in the discussion.
Especially for long-haul intercontinental routes from Germany, only “hub traffic with a mix of local and transfer passengers can guarantee the required capacity utilization and broad connectivity,” said Engel. This model not only makes economic sense, but also has a clear ecological advantage.
Long-haul flights achieved the greatest growth at German airports in the first three quarters of this year. The number of long-haul passengers increased by 36.1 percent to 28.4 million people compared to the same period last year, which was still affected by the pandemic, as the airport association ADV recently reported. This means that the value from the pre-crisis year 2019 was missed by 13.9 percent.
The state governments of Berlin and Brandenburg want to work for more long- and medium-haul connections at BER. “Berlin-Brandenburg Airport should be able to fulfill its function as a hub for East Germany,” said a statement after a cabinet meeting of both governments. According to the Berlin state government, up to six long-haul flights take off from BER every day – few compared to West German airports.
The Berlin-Brandenburg Airport Company (FBB) has been trying to offer more long-haul flights for years. Last year, the Norwegian low-cost airline Norse Atlantic added connections between Schönefeld and Los Angeles, Florida and New York to its program, but has at least canceled connections to the west coast.