Frankfurt Airport’s Airline Fees To Rise

Frankfurt Airport will be permitted to increase fees to airlines after operator Fraport’s proposal was approved by the German state of Hesse.

Fees will be increased for most airlines but incentives will be given to new entrants, a change that major user Lufthansa is critical of.

“The new fee structure not only involves an unreasonable increase in fees overall but also lowers fees for those airlines that are new to flying out of Frankfurt,” Lufthansa said in a statement. “The only requirement to qualify for the lower site costs is to have plans for a significant level of growth.”

The new fee structure will increase Lufthansa’s charges by 1.9 percent it said.

Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair will add Frankfurt to its schedules next year as it ramps up moves to serve main airports rather than smaller less popular locations some distance from the cities they serve. Ryanair’s current base is at Frankfurt Hahn, 120 km (75 miles) from the city. Frankfurt Airport, by contrast, is just 12 km (7.5 miles) from central Frankfurt.

“We feel that we have been put at a disadvantage in comparison with airlines that are new to flying out of Frankfurt. It can’t be possible for two airlines to fly the same route but pay different fees,” Lufthansa’s Harry Hohmeister said.