Hamburg Airport's Journey in the Second Division: A Journey Without Transatlantic Destinations Like New York
Hamburg Airport manages to secure a position in the Second Division - Airport in Hamburg Successfully Advances to Second Tier
With dust settling post the coronavirus storm, Hamburg Airport stands tall amidst adversity. Despite the absence of transatlantic flights such as New York, the airport is looking at a recovery of 85 percent with the summer flight plan compared to the pre-corona year 2019, placing it third among German airports - ahead of Düsseldorf.
The CDU parliamentary group's spokesman for Europe and International Affairs, Michael Becken, slings some criticism at the red-green coalition, accusing them of lacking ambition and potential risks of turning Hamburg Airport into a "provincial airport."
Long-haul flights to Doha boost the range of offers
Though the German airports Berlin (74 percent of the pre-corona level), Stuttgart (76 percent), and Cologne (80 percent) are lagging behind Hamburg, the airport, named Helmut Schmidt, is back at 2019 levels with around 120 destinations. In terms of direct long-haul connections, Hamburg Airport is even ahead of the pre-corona pandemic level by 125 percent in terms of passenger volume.
Long-haul flights are generally flights covering distances of 3,500 kilometers or more, such as to the Egyptian holiday destination Hurghada or the Canary Islands, which can be reached directly from Hamburg.
The longest direct flights from Hamburg lead to Dubai and Doha in the United Arab Emirates, which are the international hubs of Emirates and Qatar Airways, respectively. Qatar, with daily non-stop flights to Doha, is working to further improve international connectivity by 2025.
A Hamburg-New York connection revival seems challenging
The absence of destinations, particularly for business travelers, in North and South America or Asia is a significant gap in Hamburg's flight plan. The routes generally pass via Doha to large European airports such as Frankfurt, Munich, and others, and changes to this pattern are unlikely in the short term, as per the Senate.
Although there have been whispers about reviving the non-stop connection to New York, which was suspended in 2018, the political climate and disproportionate demand (mainly from the North German market) make it a formidable task to secure such connections, as they would be operated by North American airlines only.
Hamburg banking on liberalization of traffic rights to secure new opportunities
Hamburg is striving for further liberalization of traffic rights at the national level to capitalize on future market opportunities for the use of the Airbus A321 XLR, which is manufactured in Finkenwerder. These long-haul aircraft enable airlines to operate transatlantic connections affordably.
The “One-Stop-Connectivity” is critical for the location quality of airports like Hamburg. The European airport association ranks Hamburg Airport in a commendable 22nd position out of 473 airports in Europe, placing it ahead of German competitors like Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, or Cologne/Bonn.
At this juncture, CDU member Becken expresses his disappointment at the Senate's strategies: "Hamburg Airport plays no significant role for the Red-Green coalition." The coalition agreement lacks a focused approach for the airport, and long-term capacity increase plans are non-existent, he stated. Instead of prioritizing inner-city traffic, Transport Senator Anjes Tjarks (Greens) needs to give equal attention to airport policies, Becken demanded. "Hamburg Airport urgently needs to be strengthened to fully utilize its potential and boost Hamburg's economy."
- Hamburg
- Hamburg Airport
- New York
- Air Traffic
- Europe
- Coronavirus
- Senate
- CDU
- Doha
- Dubai
- USA
- Germany
- Middle East
- Azerbaijan
- Qatar
- Airbus A321 XLR
- Hamburg Airport, despite the absence of transatlantic flights like New York, is aiming for a recovery of 85 percent with the summer flight plan compared to 2019, marking a significant achievement among German airports.
- With ongoing efforts for the liberalization of traffic rights, Hamburg Airport wants to secure new opportunities, including transatlantic connections, using the Airbus A321 XLR, which could potentially revive a non-stop connection to New York.
