Overview
- Six major North Rhine–Westphalia airports handled 6.2 million departures in July–September 2025, a 4.3% increase year over year.
- Passenger volumes remain 6.6% below the third quarter of 2019, indicating the recovery is not yet complete.
- Only about 350,000 passengers flew to other German airports in Q3 2025, roughly 66% fewer than in 2019.
- Airlines have trimmed inner-German schedules for economic viability, with Lufthansa removing about 1,000 domestic flights since 2019.
- Route shifts include Eurowings ending Düsseldorf–Leipzig and Paderborn/Lippstadt adding a Munich service on September 1 to maintain hub access.