German airports connectivity atlas shows net loss of routes since 2019

German airports have lost far more air services than they have gained on existing routes, according to a new connectivity atlas from the Bundesverband der Deutschen Luftverkehrswirtschaft (BDL), the country's aviation industry association. It counts roughly 370,000 dropped flights against 120,000 added on established sectors.

Berlin is one example. Since 2019 the city has lost links including Toulouse, Turin and Belfast, and flights to Glasgow and Liverpool have each fallen by almost 90 percent.

The network is also changing shape. New services more often serve leisure destinations, while connections to European business centres have declined, the association said.

The BDL blames state-imposed location costs, which it says have roughly doubled on average since 2020. In the first half of 2026, seat capacity in Germany reached only 85 percent of its 2019 level, against 111 percent elsewhere in Europe, according to the association.

The German government has approved relief measures worth around 300 million euros for 2026. The BDL considers that insufficient and is calling for location costs to be halved, including by abolishing the air transport tax.