German international airports set a new passenger traffic record in 2006 - with throughput exceeding 174.2 million passengers, up by 5.3% over 2005. Once again, low-cost airline (LCC) services outperformed traditional routes, with passenger volume on LCCs growing by 29%. However, growth in use of l LCCs was to the detriment of traditional leisure carriers, and passenger volume on charter flights declined by 8.2%. Passenger volume on Germany's domestic routes increased by 4%, while on European routes volume increased by 6.5%, and on routes to destinations outside Europe by 3.4%.

The ranking of Germany's top airports did not change significantly in 2006: Frankfurt remains the country's largest air transport facility, handling 52.8 million passengers in 2006, up by a modest 1.1%. Congestion at the airport, as well as competition from air¬ports such as Munich or Berlin, explain the slowdown in 2006.

Munich passed the 30 million passenger mark for the first time, handling 30.8 million passengers, an increase of 7.5%. Berlin's airport system remains in third position with 18.5 million passengers, up by 7.9%. The city's Schönefeld airport, which is the base for LCCs easyJet and Germanwings, saw its passenger count soar by 19.4% to 6.1 million.

Other German airports recording strong passenger expansion in 2006 were Frankfurt Hahn (3.7 million, +20.4%), Dortmund (2 million, +15.9%), Hamburg (11.9 million, +12%), Leipzig (2.3 million, +10.3%) and Stuttgart (10.1 million, +7.4%).