Eurowings (EW, Düsseldorf) and Condor (DE, Frankfurt International) have joined Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) in drastically cutting capacity to Hamburg Helmut Schmidt in the 2025 summer, citing as reason "disproportionate increases in charges" resulting in significantly increased costs for the airlines. The two German carriers also joined Ryanair in calling on the German government to urgently adjust aviation cost structures in Germany in general.

"The Hamburg case clearly shows that a sustainably competitive cost structure is needed at German aviation locations. To achieve this, politicians must urgently set the course for a correction," appealed Condor CEO Peter Gerber, who is also the president of the federal association of German airlines (Bundesverband der Deutschen Fluggesellschaften - BDF).

On October 11, Lufthansa Group subsidiary Eurowings announced it would slash 1,000 flights to/from Hamburg Airport in 2025 and transfer them to other airports, citing as reason "the sharp rise in location costs". In particular, it would no longer offer connections to Cologne/Bonn in the upcoming 2025 summer timetable, a route that was popular with business travellers. In addition, Eurowings would remove six other destinations in Europe and North Africa from its Hamburg schedule.

On October 14, Condor followed suit by announcing a 13% capacity reduction at Hamburg Airport for the summer of 2025. The leisure carrier said it would cut flights to Samos (Greece) and Malaga (Spain), reduce frequencies to Kos Hippocrates (Greece), and cancel the planned addition of four destinations from Hamburg.

This followed Ryanair's 60% capacity reduction to Hamburg announced on October 10. Ryanair is also cutting its flights to Germany in general by 12%, representing 22 routes and 1.8 million seats, in protest of what it termed the German government's "continued failure to reduce aviation tax, security and air traffic control fees, which are hampering recovery and growth."

Eurowings said it was also considering further route closures at other German airports in favour of flights to other EU countries, given the constantly rising infrastructure and location costs for airlines in Germany. "This is because the sum of all German and European cost burdens is making flying to and from Germany increasingly expensive and unprofitable on many routes," it said.

Condor's Gerber said: "We are not only cutting capacity in Hamburg but also our planned growth in summer 2025 - a logical consequence of the threat of a completely disproportionate increase in charges in Hamburg. With these significantly increased costs, we are not only forced to relocate flights from Hamburg to other locations but also to increase prices."

Gerber accused the airport of being unwilling to reach an agreement with the airlines.

In a statement shared with ch-aviation, Hamburg Airport Managing Director Christian Kunsch disputed the airlines' claims about rising fees at the airport, noting the proposed fee increase on April 1, 2025, was only EUR2.30 euro (USD2.50) per passenger, equalling 9%, and necessary to cover rising operational costs.

Kunsch criticised the airlines for appearing to collaborate to amplify their grievances about high tax burdens on airlines at the federal level, suggesting the airport has become entangled in a political dispute. "Hamburg Airport has become a pawn in what are actually federal political disputes. The airlines want to use the example of Hamburg to flex their muscles in order to demonstrate their power in the upcoming fee negotiations at other German airports," he said.

He argued that airport charges represent only 4-6% of airlines' total costs, while other location costs, including air traffic tax, passenger security fees, and air traffic control charges, account for about 24-26%—having roughly doubled since 2019. In addition, the lion's share of 70% of airlines' costs are derived from internal operations (crews, aircraft, etc.) and fuel.

"Even after the increase in charges, Hamburg Airport will still be at a competitive level within Germany, roughly on a par with Düsseldorf, Stuttgart Manfred Rommel, and Berlin airports."

He noted that Eurowings' 1,000 flight reduction accounts for about 1% of Hamburg Airport's total flights. With 55 airlines operating from Hamburg Airport, most destinations were offered by other airlines, he added.