German airlines demand PSO subsidies for regional feeder routes

The German airline association, Bundesverband der Deutschen Fluggesellschaften (BDF), proposes establishing public subsidies to preserve regional domestic feeder routes to the primary hubs of Frankfurt am Main and Munich. Rising operating expenses, high fuel costs, and increasing state fees—specifically air traffic control charges and security check levies—continue to make short-haul operations economically challenging.

Data from the BDL indicates that domestic seat capacity within Germany has contracted by approximately half compared to pre-pandemic volumes. Because security and navigation charges apply per departure and per passenger, these fixed costs place a disproportionate burden on smaller regional aircraft operating short sectors. Several regional links have suffered service cuts, including routes from Dresden, Münster/Osnabrück, Bremen—where Deutsche Lufthansa previously paused Frankfurt feeder services—and Paderborn/Lippstadt, where scheduled operations to Munich were abandoned due to lack of profitability.

To safeguard connectivity, the BDF recommends applying the European Union Public Service Obligations (PSO) framework. Currently, 165 routes across the European Union operate under PSO rules, mainly in southern European nations such as France, Spain, Italy, and Greece, alongside cross-border services like Linz to Frankfurt funded by Austrian authorities. The last PSO-supported route in Germany connected Erfurt and Munich until December 2011. While regional business lobbies defend flight connections where rail links exceed three to four hours, critics argue that subsidies contradict modal-shift strategies favouring railway expansion.