Eurowings airline is moving to expand its presence at the Berlin Brandenburg airport (BER), adding both new aircraft and routes.
The news comes just a few weeks after Ryanair confirmed it would halve its flights, and pull all seven of its aircraft, from the German capital starting in October.
Eurowings’ expansion announcement offers a rare bit of good news for Berlin's flyers.
Limited flight choice has long been a frustration for Berliners. Despite being Germany’s largest city, the capital doesn't maintaining nearly as many connections as other German cities like Frankfurt or Munich.
Which new flights are coming to Berlin?
Eurowings has announced it will station two additional aircraft in Berlin for the winter schedule, bringing its total fleet at BER to eleven jets.
The airline is planning to boost flight frequencies to popular holiday destinations including Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife.
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Eurowings also intends to introduce new routes, with Bologna confirmed so far – one of several destinations which Ryanair plans to abandon.
Further additions may follow. Eurowings has said it will decide in July whether to take over more routes currently operated by Ryanair.
The expansion doesn't only represent more flights, but also local jobs. The airline expects to add more than 300 jobs as part of the move, underlining its growing commitment to Berlin.
Eurowings believes in Berlin and sees good prospects for the location despite all the crises, the airline's CEO was quoted as saying in the company's press release.
Ryanair turns its back on Berlin
Ryanair claims that high costs – particularly taxes and airport fees – have made Berlin uneconomical.
Chief executive Eddie Wilson cited Germany’s “stupid aviation tax regime” and increases in airport fees as key factors in the decision to cut flights by 50 percent and relocate all its Berlin-based aircraft elsewhere in Europe.
Berlin airport has disputed Ryanair's claims, saying there are no plans to raise charges. Trade unions in Germany have also described the move as a “purely profit-driven corporate strategy”.
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More broadly, the industry as a whole argues that Germany has become an expensive place to operate. Taxes and fees have more than doubled since 2019, leading several airlines – including Lufthansa and EasyJet, as well as Ryanair – to scale back domestic services.
Politically, the issue is now under review. The Bundestag was set to vote on reducing the air travel tax on Thursday, reversing a 2024 increase.
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