The latest report on the economic situation and forecasts of demand in the south of Gran Canaria for the period September and October 2024 point to a 9% drop for Ryanair and a 14% drop for Condor, the traditional German airline on the island. This may be seasonal or a consequence of the effects that companies such as Lufthansa and Condor are suffering in Germany, which are complaining in Frankfurt about the high costs resulting from government demands and warning of a decrease in profits in international competition. It must be that the weight of TUI is taking over Condor.
German airlines Lufthansa and Condor are increasingly suffering from unfair competition and rising costs in Germany. The massive increase in state taxes and fees would cause serious problems for German airlines and, by knock-on effect, for Gran Canaria. The cost of air traffic control, aviation security checks and air traffic charges have doubled in the last four years: from 3,5 to 7.000 billion euros per year. These burdens have led to international airlines increasingly avoiding German airports, which means that Germany is increasingly losing connections to Europe and, obviously, to Gran Canaria.
While air traffic in most other European countries is growing above the 2019 level, the recovery rate in Germany is only 82 percent of the pre-crisis level. This not only endangers the export-oriented economy, but also calls into question the freedom of movement of people. High ticket prices make air travel increasingly a social problem. Lufthansa recently announced that it would introduce a new environmental tax to offset the rising costs caused by government requirements. Government requirements to add sustainable fuels (SAF). From 2025, airlines flying from the EU must obtain two percent of their fuel from synthetic fuels produced from electricity. This proportion is expected to rise to 70 percent by 2050.
