In comparison to the pre-COVID year of 2019, domestic flights within Germany have seen a decline in both the number of flights and passengers, constituting a reduced proportion of the overall air traffic.
According to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), between January and October 2023, approximately 20.6 per cent of the total 715,500 flights originating from major German airports were bound for destinations within the country.
11.4 per cent of the total 84.3 million air travellers who started in this country were travelling to a destination within Germany in the same period.
The current data is very similar to last year, with 21.5 per cent of flights and 11.0 per cent of domestic passengers from January to October.
Germany’s Domestic Passenger Flights Dominated During 2019
Such data also show that during 2019, a significant 26.7 per cent of the 942,100 flights originating in Germany were domestic, while 18.3 per cent of the 107.2 million passengers departing from Germany were headed to domestic destinations.
Further data from Destatis reveal that the decline is even more pronounced in the number of passengers. In January-October 2019, almost a fifth (18.3 per cent) of passengers departing from Germany were destined for domestic countries.
Moreover, domestic flights in 2023 covered an average distance of 311 kilometres, in stark contrast to the 1,966 kilometres travelled on average for international flights, implying a difference of more than sixfold.
Domestic German Passengers Decided to Travel Abroad Last Year
A significant proportion of domestic German air travellers have destinations abroad. As a result, between January and October 2023, over 28.2 per cent or about 2.7 million of the 9.6 million domestic passengers transferred to international flights. The figure marks an increase from the 17.0 per cent observed during the equivalent period in 2019, highlighting the evolving nature of domestic air travel patterns.
In August 2023, there was also a 1.9 per cent decrease in the number of individuals staying in accommodation establishments in Germany compared to 2022.
Throughout the same month, accommodation providers in Germany reported a total of 57.1 million overnight stays, including domestic and international guests. This marked a decrease of 1.9 per cent from August last year and a reduction of 1.3 per cent compared to the year before the pandemic 2019.
Based on Destatis figures, domestic guests accounted for 47.6 million overnight stays in August 2023, reflecting a decrease of 3.4 per cent compared to August 2022. On the other hand, compared to August 2019, there was an increase of 1.0 per cent in the total number of beds.
