Christian Ebner
dpa
(TNS)

Berlin — Berlin's only airport, opened in 2020 to replace two old airports, but is still handling far fewer passengers than the old airports did before the pandemic, official figures show.

Now, as the capital’s air-service still struggles to boost passenger numbers, Europe's largest airline is withdrawing its base and putting an even larger dent in the airport's comparatively poor range of direct connections.

Irish budget airline Ryanair has announced it is slashing its flights in Germany due to "astronomical" costs, with Berlin set to be the "biggest loser."

The low-cost carrier said on Thursday it would offer around 700,000 fewer seats in the coming winter schedule compared to last year's - a reduction of 10%. 

Ryanair has slammed successive German governments for the country's high costs, including air traffic control and security charges as well as the "exorbitant" national air travel tax. 

Berlin's airport has long been dogged with a poor reputation, both for delays and costs during construction and recently for lagging behind other major air travel hubs in terms of direct connections.

The airport opened in October 2020, nine years behind schedule due to serious construction and planning flaws. At €6.5 billion ($7.2 billion), the construction costs were three times higher than originally planned.

Ryanair now calls it "Europe's least successful airport" and is closing its base on October 24, with seven aircraft and their crews to be relocated to more competitive airports in other European countries. 

According to the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistical Office, some 11.9 million passengers came through the airport in the first six months of this year, well behind the 17.5 million in the first half of 2019. At the same time, the number of take-offs and landings in the first half of this year is 3.2% down on the same period last year.

Germany's capital will continue to be served by Ryanair but will lose around half of its current capacity with 12 routes to be axed, including services to Gran Canaria, Palermo, Marseille and Thessaloniki.

"Berlin is by far the biggest loser," said the airline's chief executive Eddie Wilson. Passengers would have significantly less choice and would have to pay higher fares, he said.

Cuts of around 5% would also affect Hamburg, while capacity at Memmingen and Cologne is to be expanded. Regional airports in Saarbrücken and Friedrichshafen are new additions to Ryanair's winter schedule.

The operator of Berlin Airport said that other airlines are expanding their operations at the airport. "Six of the twelve routes cancelled by Ryanair are being taken over by other airlines or are already being served," a spokesperson said.

Travellers will be able to choose from more airlines and destinations in the winter timetable than in the previous year, the operator said. However, the reduction in capacity caused by Ryanair cannot be fully offset. 

Otherwise, the company shares the view of the wider aviation industry that government-imposed location costs represent a significant burden. The focus is on reducing costs in areas where the company has control.

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