05.01.2026 - The German Chamber of Commerce and Industry  (DIHK) has adopted a catalogue of measures to strengthen Germany's aviation hub. 

Germany is a highly developed industrial nation centrally located in Europe. According to the IHK organization, this makes it ideal as an air transport hub for the whole of Europe. Nevertheless, since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, Germany’s aviation hub has lost significant ground compared to international competitors. 

"Germany's aviation hub is particularly weakened by the framework conditions and political decisions of recent years. State location costs have doubled at many major locations between 2019 and 2025," states the position paper adopted by DIHK committees entitled "Strengthening Germany’s Aviation Hub – Where are the problems and what should be done?" The consequences affect not only the aviation industry itself but the entire economy. Restricted international accessibility hampers business travel and the transportation of time-sensitive freight, placing a burden especially on export-oriented companies. However, many other sectors of the economy, such as tourism, culture, and trade show locations are suffering from poorer connections. 

According to the DIHK, the reasons for the location's weakness are multi-faceted. They range from high costs due to taxes and fees to narrowly defined bilateral air traffic agreements to challenges in maintaining smaller airports with low utilization due to their high importance to the regional economy. There are also challenges in transitioning to fuels without CO₂ emissions.

To strengthen the location, the DIHK has developed nine specific demands. These include the complete abolition of air traffic tax, state assumption of security costs, waiver of a kerosene tax, fair competition conditions in air traffic agreements, and pragmatic solutions for smaller airports. Furthermore, conditions must be created for the use of sustainable fuels and night flight regulations must be reviewed. 

"Germany needs to reconnect to international air transport. The weakness of Germany's aviation hub is increasingly becoming a location risk for many businesses. Industrial companies are concerned about their supply chains, and sectors like tourism, culture, and trade shows worry about accessibility for their guests. We urgently need to counteract this," says DIHK Chief Executive Officer Helena Melnikov. "The measures agreed upon between the coalition partners are moving in the right direction, but they are not enough to achieve this. For example, the planned reduction in the air transport tax as of July 1, 2026, can only be a first step. A global economy thrives on the rapid exchange of goods and people. Aviation plays a key role in this. Every flight connection that gets canceled reduces the attractiveness of the region for businesses and thus their competitiveness. We must make Germany's aviation hub internationally competitive again."

The DIHK paper with details is available for download here: 

Strengthening Germany's Aviation Hub (PDF, 394 KB)(only available in German)