Travelers flying between Germany and Asia are increasingly choosing Istanbul and Gulf airports over Frankfurt and Munich, driven by higher European climate charges and rising German aviation costs, a report released on Oct. 5 has found.
“Air travelers generally have a wide range of options on which airline to take to a long-haul destination,” the report by German aviation organizations said, adding that Istanbul, Doha and Dubai are increasingly preferred as their fares are lower and their connections are wider.
Transfers through non-EU hubs rose to 54 percent of all passenger traffic from Germany to the Far East and Southeast Asia in 2024, according to the joint study by the Federal Association of German Aviation Industry (BDL) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Those figures were up from 43.8 percent in 2019 and 33.7 percent in 2010.
Connecting traffic through airports in Türkiye and the Gulf saw the sharpest gains, more than doubling from 12.6 percent in 2010 to 28.2 percent in 2024. Over the same period, direct flights from Germany and transfers through domestic hubs combined tumbled from 56 percent to 36 percent.
The report singled out Turkish Airlines and Istanbul’s new mega-airport, alongside the Gulf’s leading hubs — Dubai and Doha — as key drivers of the shift. Beyond offering lower fares, these hubs often streamline travel itineraries — allowing passengers to reach destinations as far as Australia with a single layover, compared to two connections when flying via Western Europe.
