WIESBADEN (dpa-AFX) - German airports were significantly busier in the first half of 2024 than in the same period last year. 90.8 million passengers took off and landed at the larger airports, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. This was 10.5% more than in the first half of 2023, but still 14.6% less than in 2019 before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

With ticket prices falling by 3.1%, Spain was once again the most popular destination for international travel in June, with 2.9 million arrivals and departures. Turkey followed in second and third place with 2.0 million passengers and Italy with 1.3 million passengers. Italy recorded the strongest growth compared to 2023 with an increase of 11.9%.

Compared to the pre-Covid period, however, Turkey grew strongly by 20 percent, which is probably also due to a stronger transfer offer from Turkish Airlines. There were fewer passengers to Spain and Italy compared to June 2019./ceb/DP/mis