Flying High: Hamburg Airport's Soaring Success in the Second Tier
Hamburg Airport Exhibits Achievement in Second-Tier Air Travel Operations - Hamburg Airport managing to maintain its operations efficiently in the lower tier of aviation businesses.
Hey there! Let's chat about Hamburg Airport and its impressive success story, even without direct transatlantic routes like New York. This dynamic aviation hub's advancements have been noticed by the Senate, so let's dive into the details!
After a rough ride due to the pandemic, the airport expects a whopping 85% recovery with the summer flight plan compared to the pre-COVID year of 2019. This stellar recovery has positioned Hamburg Airport ahead of contenders like Düsseldorf, according to the Senate's response to the CDU parliamentary group's inquiry.
But what's the catch? Some argue that the Red-Green coalition lacks ambition and warns of the danger of Hamburg Airport morphing into a " provincial airport." Michael Becken, the CDU spokesman, suggests that developments at other airports like Berlin (74% of the pre-pandemic level), Stuttgart (76%), and Cologne (80%) fall short of Hamburg's progress.
Despite limited long-haul direct flights, Hamburg Airport Helmut Schmidt is back at 2019 levels, with over 120 destinations. In fact, it surpassed pre-pandemic volumes for direct long-haul connections by an impressive 125%.
Although long-haul flights are typically defined as distances of 3,500 kilometers or more, corresponding to the distances to holiday destinations like Hurghada or the Canary Islands, the airport's longest direct flights reach Dubai and Doha in the United Arab Emirates, linking passengers to international hubs of Emirates and Qatar Airways. The latter has been serving this route daily non-stop for almost a year, promising to boost international connectivity substantially by 2025.
While destinations like North and South America or Asia are absent from Hamburg's flight plan, the airport is keen on advocating for further liberalization of traffic rights at the federal level. The aim is to better utilize future market opportunities, as the Airbus A321 XLR – an aircraft built in Finkenwerder – can operate transatlantic connections more economically.
For airports like Hamburg that cannot be hubs, 'One-Stop-Connectivity' – the connection to national and international hubs from which flights to all parts of the world depart – is critical to their overall standing. According to a European airport association ranking, Hamburg Airport currently holds a commendable 22nd place among 473 European airports, managing to outshine German competitors such as Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, and Cologne/Bonn.
But the CDU questions the Senate's ambition for Hamburg Airport, pointing out that the coalition agreement contains no strategic direction for the airport. Moreover, the long-term capacity isn't slated to increase, leaving some anxious about the airport's potential. CDU member Becken emphasizes the need for Transport Senator Anjes Tjarks (Greens) to prioritize airport policy "finally," as Hamburg's economy requires the airport to be fully exploited.
- Hamburg
- Hamburg Airport
- New York
- Air Traffic
- Europe
- Coronavirus
- Senate
- CDU
- Doha
- Success Course
- Düsseldorf
- Red-Green
- Stuttgart
- Cologne
- Atlantic
- North America
- Berlin
- Helmut Schmidt
- Hurghada
Extra Insight:
While Hamburg Airport lacks direct long-haul flights to North America, passengers mostly access these destinations via one-stop flights through hubs like Frankfurt, London, Paris, and Doha. Originally, Lufthansa Group planned to expand premium long-haul flights from Munich (and Frankfurt) to North American cities with new Allegris cabins starting late 2025, but no similar direct long-haul expansions from Hamburg are in the cards as of now. Instead, the airport focuses on improving passenger experience and maintaining strong hub connectivity for onward long-haul travel, rather than launching direct long-haul flights from Hamburg.
In the spirit of strengthening connections, Hamburg Airport could consider greater cooperation with developing countries to create more direct flights, opening up opportunities for increased trade and cultural exchange.
The Senate, as a key stakeholder, should take a proactive approach in advocating for finance to support such partnerships and airport expansion, ensuring Hamburg's economic growth continues unabated.
