Germany’s 22 major airports served approximately 199.5 million passengers in 2024, a 7.7% increase from the previous year, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). This marks a significant recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a devastating impact on the aviation industry.
Compared to the pre-pandemic high of 226.7 million passengers in 2019, the number of passengers in 2024 was still 12.0% lower. The domestic air travel market, in particular, has not fully recovered, with a 3.7% increase in passengers in 2024, while international air travel has shown a stronger recovery, with an 8.0% increase in passengers in 2024.
The trend of a stronger international air travel market has been observed since 2021, with the number of passengers on international flights steadily increasing and approaching the pre-pandemic level. In contrast, the domestic air travel market has shown a slower recovery, with the number of passengers still 48.5% lower in 2024 compared to 2019.
The air cargo market, on the other hand, has nearly recovered to its pre-pandemic level, with 4.7 million tons of cargo transported in 2024, a 2.1% increase from the previous year and only a 0.2% decrease from the 2019 level of 4.7 million tons.