Taxpayers pay extra for flights from Kassel Airport - "Every single passenger there is bought very dearly"

The corona pandemic has hit the entire travel industry hard.

According to a study in 2020, enormous costs were incurred for every passenger from Kassel-Calden.

• A “plus minus” report draws

  a devastating balance for regional airports in Germany

  after the

  Corona

  * crisis.

• Even the

  airport Kassel-Calden

  is criticized.

• The taxpayer criticizes the

  federal government for taxpayers

  .

Kassel - Almost all companies have

suffered economic losses

due to the

.

The travel industry in particular is particularly affected by travel restrictions and flight cancellations.

A “plus minus” report draws a devastating balance for regional airports in Germany.

Even the

is not well off.

The ARD report refers in the calculations to

data

.

"We looked at the numbers for 2018, the balance sheets and the annual financial statements.

We had to state that around 100 million euros in tax money flowed into the regional airports, ”says Matthias Warneke from the Taxpayers' Association.

Due to the

, this has increased.

Kassel-Calden Airport: Taxpayers pay on top per passenger

Even before the corona pandemic,

struggling

with losses.

In 2018, Kassel-Calden Airport achieved a record number of passengers with 132,000 passengers *, but still generated a deficit of 5.9 million euros.

In 2019, the number of passengers was around 120,000, just below the previous year's level.

The total number of passengers and the annual balance sheet for 2020 are still

but have probably collapsed

due to the

.

From January to October around 27,000 passengers flew from Kassel Airport, according to the ARD report.

The resulting calculation of “plus minus” and the federal government for taxpayers sounds dramatic.

Taxpayer costs were around 130 euros

per passenger at

in 2018, and around 650 euros this year due to the low number of passengers.

The calculation assumes a deficit of 17.7 million euros in 2018, with the taxpayers' association including grants from the shareholders.

BUND is also calling for the Kassel-Calden airport to be closed - the state of Hesse rejects criticism

The state of

is the largest shareholder in

with 68 percent

.

Other shareholders are the city and the district of Kassel with 14.5 percent each.

The municipality of Calden holds the remaining three percent.

The taxpayers' association is calling for the airport to be shut down in view of the losses.

“Every single passenger there is bought very dearly.

That is why

certainly one of the first airports that should actually be shut down, ”said the taxpayers' association in the ARD report.

The environmental organization BUND and the Forum Ökologische-Soziale Marktwirtschaft (FÖS) have also criticized the inefficiency of Kassel-Calden Airport *.

They are calling for an immediate closure of half of the 14 regional airports investigated, including

.

The association Pro Kassel Airport and the travel agency association Region Kassel clearly rejected this request.

"The fact that the BUND and the Forum Ecological Social Market Economy are trumpeting their current demand to close half of the regional airports immediately, is evidence of a very bad style and a lack of empathy for many individual fates," they said opposite the HNA *.

Kassel-Calden Airport: "Think long-term"

“We need the airport in the North Hesse region.

In the past, this region was very difficult to reach in terms of traffic and the airport creates the possibility of accessibility, ”said the State of Hesse on the“ plus-minus ”research.

The Hessian finance state secretary Martin Worms, chairwoman of the supervisory board of Kassel Airport, reacted in a similar way to criticism from BUND and FÖS.

"As with any infrastructure project, at Kassel Airport it is also important to think long-term," said Worms.

(sne)