Berlin/ Frankfurt — Passenger numbers at German airports in July have doubled since last year, but still remain far below pre-pandemic levels.

Just under 9.9 million people used the airports in July, according to figures from the airport association ADV. This is only 40 per cent of the volume in July 2019, when the coronavirus pandemic had not yet reared its head.

Passengers are particularly lacking on domestic flights and long intercontinental connections, the association said on Tuesday.

In both areas, demand was only about a quarter of pre-crisis levels.

The most important segment remained European flights to typical holiday destinations in the Mediterranean, with 7.8 million passengers.

The association fears that this year the same trend could re-emerge as last year, when passenger numbers fell sharply again after the summer tourism peak.

Airlines are still struggling to cope with the radical reduction in customers due to travel restrictions and coronavirus fears.

On Monday evening, Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr said that his firm was expecting "a long, cold winter for us as an airline."

"The path back to normality will last longer for us than for many others," he said, with an eye on the improving financial results from large German companies in other sectors.

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