Editorial Team
Our content team
4 min read
3.7 million passengers at Memmingen. Over 2.2 million at Weeze. Both airports smashed their own records in 2025 and are now flying above pre-COVID levels. Frankfurt, Germany's biggest hub? Still stuck at roughly 95% of where it was in 2019.
I dug into the latest DLR Tourism Report and the shift is honestly more dramatic than I expected. Memmingen Airport sits 3.5% above its 2019 capacity for summer 2026. Weeze Niederrhein managed 11.1% above pre-pandemic figures. Munich, meanwhile, is still 13% below where it used to be.
This isn't random.
Ryanair Rewards Cheap Airports, Punishes Expensive Ones
Ryanair and Wizz Air are shifting capacity from expensive major hubs to cheaper regional airports. Airports that cooperate on landing fees get more flights. Those that don't lose them.
Berlin is down 5% in Ryanair capacity for summer 2026. Hamburg lost 20%. But Memmingen, Weeze, Cologne, and Bremen are picking up those routes. Marcel Pouchain Meyer from Ryanair's DACH team named these airports specifically as expansion winners.
Ryanair announced 300,000 additional seats and 14 new routes for Germany in summer 2026. Most of that growth is going to the smaller airports.
There's also the tax angle. Germany's parliament approved a reduction in air travel tax effective July 1, 2026. Short-haul flights drop from 15.53 to 13.03 euros per passenger. Ryanair's CEO Eddie Wilson welcomed the decision and tied it directly to the Germany expansion.
Memmingen: Triple the Passenger Count Since COVID
Memmingen has set itself up as Ryanair's southern Germany hub. The 3,698,900 passengers in 2025 aren't just a record. That's triple what the airport handled right after the pandemic. Up 14% from 2024.
The airport is targeting another 5% growth for 2026. Wizz Air launched new direct routes, and Ryanair added connections. Travelers from the Allgau and Lake Constance regions often find Memmingen closer than Munich.
Weeze: The Underrated Alternative in North Rhine-Westphalia
Weeze Niederrhein runs exclusively on Ryanair. That sounds like a risk, but it clearly works. The airport handled 2,245,735 passengers in 2025, up 14% year-over-year and 75% above 2019. Over 40 European destinations. For summer 2026, Comiso in Sicily, Malta, and Rhodes are joining the network.
Many passengers come from the Ruhr area, the Lower Rhine region, and the Netherlands. If you've dealt with the crowds at Dusseldorf Airport, you probably get the appeal: short walks, small terminals, and generally quick check-in.
What This Means for Your Luggage
Here's the part most news articles skip. If you're flying from Memmingen or Weeze, you're almost certainly on Ryanair or Wizz Air. Two airlines with some of the toughest baggage rules in Europe.
Ryanair's standard fare includes only a small personal bag (40x30x20 cm). The larger cabin bag at 55x40x20 cm and 10 kg requires a Priority add-on (8 to 30 euros when booked online). At the gate? 50 to 70 euros. That stings.
Wizz Air is similarly strict: free carry-on is limited to 40x30x20 cm. The larger bag (55x40x23 cm) requires WIZZ Priority at around 40 euros.
My advice: always sort your baggage at booking. The gate is where it gets expensive.
If you're flying Ryanair from Memmingen or Weeze, check out our 7 Ryanair Hand Luggage Tricks first. For the full picture, we've got the Ryanair Hand Luggage 2026 Guide. Flying Wizz Air? Our Wizz Air Hand Luggage 2026 Guide covers everything.
We've also pulled together carry-on dimensions for all airlines in 2026. Because nobody needs the surprise of a bag that doesn't fit and a gate fee from Ryanair, easyJet, or Wizz Air (Coming Soon) to go with it.
