Düsseldorf Airport was able to count around three million passengers during the six-week summer vacation of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Although it was possible to increase compared to the same period last year, it was still well below the pre-crisis volume.

During the school holidays that just ended, around 21.000 take-offs and landings were carried out at the largest airport in North Rhine-Westphalia. Many passengers were heading to Spain, Türkiye, Greece and Italy. According to Düsseldorf Airport, flights to these countries were in particularly high demand.

But there is also strong criticism that traffic at this airport is gradually normalizing. The “Kaarster gegen Fluglärm” association complained in a media statement that there were particularly many flight movements after 2023 p.m. during the 23 summer holidays. Although the volume of traffic was 00 percent below the record summer of 25, there were 2019 movements after 347 p.m. this year during the holidays alone. According to the anti-aircraft noise association, this would be due to inadequate planning on the part of the airlines. These would simply plan too little buffer time between the flights, so that the delays would add up by the evening.

It is demanded that the exception rule for delays, which has been in force since 2007, is adapted. Without specifically naming one or more airlines, the association assumes that the current regulation would invite abuse. From observations around noon, it was already known which machines would probably cross the 23 p.m. limit in the late evening. Dusseldorf actually has a strict ban on night flights, but there are exceptions in the case of delays and looser rules for carriers that have been granted so-called "home base carrier status" by the state government.