German airports body alarmed at Ryanair decision to shut Berlin base

Germany’s ADV airports association on Saturday expressed concern at the decision by Irish budget carrier Ryanair to shut down its base at Berlin’s BER international airport and halve flights to and from the German capital.

“Following the Ryanair announcement, Germany is looking at BER airport, but it is in fact not a decision taken against Berlin, but against the German aviation sector as a whole,” ADV chief executive Ralph Beisel said.

Dublin-based Ryanair announced on Friday that by the winter of this year it would cut its flights to and from BER by half, close its base and withdraw the seven aircraft currently kept there, claiming the airport had decided to increase charges by a further 10% between 2027 and 2029.

BER has rejected Ryanair’s account and said that the two sides are currently in talks on the charges issue.

Beisel said costs in the German aviation sector were too high. “Excessive taxes and charges are preventing German airports from participating in the dynamic growth of European aviation,” he said.

He pointed to aviation taxes, insurance fees and airport charges. While airport charges were lower than the European average, they were only a small part of the total, he said.

The ADV noted that while a flight from Berlin to Palma de Mallorca cost the airline around €7,600 ($8,900) in taxes and charges, compared to around €4,400 for flights from Warsaw to Palma.

Long-haul flights from Germany to New York cost airlines some €23,500 in fees and taxes, compared to €13,900 charged on average at other European airports, according to the industry group.

The association also noted that Germany’s neighbours had posted much larger rises in passenger traffic over the past 10 years.