Lufthansa and Ryanair unite in call for abolition of German aviation tax

Lufthansa has criticised Germany for its "excessive government levies", which make the country "unattractive" for aviation.

Further, Ryanair has blamed Germany's lagging air traffic recovery on "high access costs (air traffic tax, security fees, air traffic control fees) and airport charges".

Airline seat capacity in Germany is scheduled to reach only 87% of 2019 levels in 2024, compared with 102% for Europe as a whole. Germany is the only one of Europe's five biggest markets not to exceed 2019 capacity levels in 2024.

It is rare for Lufthansa and Ryanair to agree, but both have welcomed Sweden's decision to abolish aviation tax, and have urged Germany to follow suit.