Germany opens Berlin to Emirates, angering Lufthansa

The agreement gives Emirates access to a fifth German airport, beyond Frankfurt, Munich, Düsseldorf and Hamburg. Emirates can operate up to seven flights a week, paving the way for a daily Berlin-Dubai service. Berlin and Stuttgart are on Emirates wish-list for a long time but Berlin, as Germany’s capital, was always the favourite for the UAE carrier.

Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner welcomed the decision: “Better international connections create new opportunities for investment, companies and jobs throughout eastern Germany,” the CDU politician said.

UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, visiting Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Wegner, also backed the expanded air links.

“Every year, tens of thousands of people from Berlin visit the United Arab Emirates, and we hope this development will continue to grow,” he said.

The agreement comes alongside a major UAE investment commitment. The Emirates plans to invest €40 billion ($47 billion) in Germany, more than doubling its existing investment in the German economy, estimated at around €34 billion ($40 billion).

Much of the money is expected to go into digital infrastructure, including new data centres with combined capacity of about one gigawatt.

That coincidence has raised eyebrows in Germany’s aviation industry, with unions and airlines questioning whether additional traffic rights were effectively exchanged for investment.

“This is not responsible aviation policy, but a questionable deal at the expense of domestic jobs,” said Dennis Dacke of the Verdi union. “German aviation policy must not become bargaining currency during state visits.”

Lufthansa upset
Lufthansa is particularly concerned. BER has traditionally fed passengers into the group’s long-haul hubs at Frankfurt and Munich. The German carrier fears Emirates will siphon off travellers heading onward to Asia through Dubai, one of the world’s largest international connecting hubs.

“The difficult situation on domestic routes connecting metropolitan areas with German hubs will be further aggravated by this policy,” Lufthansa said.

The airline’s concern is straightforward: passengers from Berlin who previously connected through Frankfurt or Munich for Asian destinations could instead fly directly to Dubai and transfer there.

An Emirates Boeing 777-300ER can carry between 354 and 442 passengers, depending on configuration. Industry estimates suggest European carriers could potentially lose up to 3,000 connecting passengers a week from the BER catchment area.

A more realistic estimate, after accounting for normal load factors and passengers whose final destination is Dubai, puts the potential loss at around 1,500 to 2,000 passengers a week, according to an industry source.

The Association of German Airlines (BDF) also condemned the decision, saying it conflicts with government promises to strengthen the competitiveness of German carriers.

BDF managing director Michael Engel argued that Emirates would not create a new long-haul network from Berlin but would primarily connect the German capital to its Dubai hub.

The group also warned that existing Condor and Eurowings services to Dubai could come under pressure, while Germany could lose opportunities to attract airlines willing to establish genuinely new long-haul routes.

Transport Minister Steffen Bilger also highlighted that Emirates’ additional operation would be limited to seven flights a week and explicitly ruled out services from Germany to third countries.

The wording appears designed to prevent Emirates from obtaining so-called fifth-freedom rights. Bilger nevertheless described the agreement as strengthening Germany’s aviation sector.

The most enthusiastic is definitely the city of Berlin. The deal delivers the international connectivity city officials have sought for years, a wish that Lufthansa has been turning a deaf ear to for a long time!