Two Eastern German Airports to Receive Millions of Euros in State Aid

Aug. 26, 2020

Magdeburg, Germany (dpa) - Two eastern German airports will receive millions of euros worth of state aid to prop them up as they deal with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, officials said on Tuesday.

Leipzig/Halle and Dresden airports will receive up to 27 million euros (32 million dollars), according to a spokesman for the Finance Ministry of Saxony-Anhalt, the eastern state whose residents are served by both hubs.

The Saxony-Anhalt state parliament has already agreed to contribute 5 million euros, while the neighbouring state of Saxony has also pledged its support without giving a precise amount.

Passenger traffic slumped at the two airports amid border closures at the start of the pandemic.

Leipzig/Halle and Dresden counted around 573,000 passengers in the first half of the year, 69 per cent fewer than in the same period last year.

Though freight volume rose by 4 per cent to 634,000 tons in the first half of the year at Leipzig/Halle airport, the second largest cargo airport in Germany after Frankfurt, this revenue growth was unable to compensate for the passenger slump, the Finance Ministry said.

The European Commission has already given the go-ahead for German state aid programmes for ailing airports.

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