Ok, whew, I just found this bit of info:

"Germany's government has created a new tax on air travel, effective immediately and charged on all tickets sold from now on, for flights departing Germany from January 1st, 2011 or later.

The tax is

  • 45 Euros for long-haul flights: to the USA, all of North and South America, Asia and Australia.
  • 25 Euros for medium distances, like southern Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East
  • 8 Euros for domestic or short-haul European flights


It is yet to be seen how airlines will implement this, but it is likely that the tax will be added to the ticket prices, not charged in cash at the airport.

So, if you are travelling to Europe, it is cheaper if you don't plan to leave from Germany by plane, but from a different country.
Flights arriving in Germany are not subject to tax - only departing flights.
Transit of less than 12 hours (24 hours for long-haul connections) is also not subject to tax."