Hamburg Airport Shooting for the Stars in the Second Division
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Success of Hamburg Airport Secured in Second Division - Hamburg Airport manages to secure promotion to the Second League
The Senate sees Hamburg Airport on an upward trajectory, despite the absence of transatlantic destinations like New York. After the pandemic hit, the airport anticipates an 85% recovery by the summer flight plan compared to pre-pandemic 2019 and ranks third among German airports, beating out Düsseldorf, according to a Senate response to a minor interpellation from the CDU parliamentary group.
The spokesperson for Europe and International Affairs in the faction, Michael Becken, criticizes the current red-green government for lacking ambition and warns against turning the airport into a "provincial airport."
Flights to Doha enhance the airport's reach
"Airports such as Berlin (74% of the pre-pandemic level), Stuttgart (76%), and Cologne (80%) are behind Hamburg in terms of development," the Senate states. With approximately 120 destinations, Hamburg Airport Helmut Schmidt has returned to 2019 levels. "In terms of direct long-haul connections, Hamburg Airport has even reached 125% of the pre-pandemic pandemic level in terms of passenger volume," it continues.
Long-haul flights generally cover distances over 3,500 kilometers, corresponding to the distances to holiday spots like Hurghada or the Canary Islands, which are directly served from Hamburg.
The longest direct flights originating from Hamburg lead to Dubai and Doha in the United Arab Emirates, connecting passengers to international hubs of Emirates and Qatar Airways. Qatar has been flying the route to Doha daily non-stop for almost a year, which, according to the Senate, will "improve international connectivity significantly by 2025."
The revival of the Hamburg - New York connection is currently elusive
Other destinations, particularly for business travelers, in North and South America or Asia are missing from the Hamburg flight plan. The routes typically involve stops at Doha, Frankfurt, Munich, or other large European airports, and are unlikely to change soon, according to the Senate.
While speculation swirls about a revival of the non-stop connection to New York, discontinued in 2018, the current political climate and disproportionately high demand—mostly from the northern German market—make it challenging for airlines to secure such connections, as they would likely only be operated by North American airlines.
Hamburg Airport excels in "One-Stop-Connectivity"
Hamburg is pushing for further liberalization of traffic rights at the federal level to better capitalize on future market opportunities for the use of the Airbus A321 XLR, for example. With this long-haul aircraft, built in Finkenwerder, airlines could operate transatlantic connections more economically.
For the location quality of airports like Hamburg, which cannot serve as hubs, the so-called "One-Stop-Connectivity" is crucial—the ability to connect to national and international hubs from where flights to all parts of the world depart. "According to the current ranking of the European airport association, Hamburg Airport is in an exceptional 22nd place out of 473 airports in Europe," the Senate writes. "And thus partly far ahead of German competitors such as Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, or Cologne/Bonn."
The CDU finds the Senate's plans underwhelming.
The CDU's Becken is clear: "The critically important Hamburg Airport plays no significant role for the Red-Green coalition." The coalition agreement does not include a strategic direction for the airport. "Even the capacity is not to be increased in the long term—a poor showing for the second largest city of the world's third largest economy," he said to the German Press Agency.
Instead of focusing on inner-city traffic, Transport Senator Anjes Tjarks (Greens) must "finally also make policy for the airport," Becken demanded. "The airport in Hamburg must be urgently strengthened in order to fully exploit its potential and strengthen Hamburg's economy."
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- The airport faces challenges in expanding its long-haul and transatlantic connections, including restricted aircraft availability, competing hub dynamics, insufficient market demand, and regulatory limitations like slot allocations and bilateral agreements.
- Current expansions of long-haul and transatlantic flights are primarily happening at larger hubs like Frankfurt and Munich, with Lufthansa Group airlines focusing new routes and aircraft offerings at these hubs.
- Hamburg's transatlantic and intercontinental route network remains limited, and growth may stay gradual as the airport confronts these strategic and operational challenges.
- No specific new transatlantic destinations or long-haul flights have been publicly announced for Hamburg Airport in the upcoming 2025 flight schedule[5][3][4].
- Increased cooperation among EC countries could facilitate partnerships with developing countries, enabling Hamburg Airport to expand its reach to new long-haul destinations, such as Hurghada, and strengthen their connections to international hubs.
- Finance and aviation industries could collaborate to invest in the development of the Airbus A321 XLR, making transatlantic flights from Hamburg Airport more economical, thereby positively impacting the lifestyle and travel sectors.
- Hamburg Airport's partnership with Qatar Airways for daily non-stop flights to Doha demonstrates the potential for greater cooperation with developing countries like Qatar, which could potentially lead to increased finance and travel opportunities in the future.
