Lufthansa ready to cancel 100 weekly flights on domestic routes

As the German government failed on its promise to reduce the excessive charges on air transport, Lufthansa seems to have no choice than further trimming its domestic timetable. It follows the recent Ryanair decision to eliminate over 800,000 seats this winter from Germany.

According to CEO Carsten Spohr, around 100 weekly domestic air links are now under review. “Without a reduction in the burden on our home markets, further cuts will be unavoidable,” Spohr told Welt am Sonntag.

The decision comes as Lufthansa also plans to eliminate about 4,000 administrative positions as part of a wider cost-reduction effort.

Domestic routes are no longer profitable
For Spohr, roughly 100 weekly domestic flights could be dropped from next summer’s schedule. “Routes such as Munich–Münster/Osnabrück or Munich–Dresden are under review,” he said. “We operate these flights at a loss every single day.”

He noted that the cost of operating within Germany has nearly doubled since 2019 due to higher air traffic control fees, airport charges, and environmental taxes, making some services unsustainable.

Unlike international traffic, domestic air travel in Germany has failed to return to pre-pandemic levels. Industry groups attribute this to the decline in business travel. Much of which has permanently shifted to videoconferencing while greater competition from high-speed rail takes place.

According to Germany’s aviation association (BDL), domestic air traffic will count 8,7 million seats between September 2025 and February 2026, representing roughly 51% of 2019 volumes in the same equivalent period.

Germany’s airport’s association ADV speaks also from a passengers’ volume of only 50.4% between January-September 2025 compared to the same period of 2019. This translates into a passengers’ volume of 17.63 million.

Frankfurt and Munich hub to lose out in connectivity
If implemented, Lufthansa’s reduction could affect smaller regional airports such as Dresden, Münster/Osnabrück, Nuremberg, and Saarbrücken. They all rely heavily on connections to Munich and Frankfurt. Some of these routes may instead be served by Lufthansa’s rail partners under the Lufthansa Express Rail program in cooperation with Deutsche Bahn.