Safe Travel During the Corona Pandemic: Lufthansa Group Signs EASA Charter

With air transport being one of the sectors most affected by the corona pandemic, it makes it even more important to strengthen confidence in flying as a safe form of travel. Therefore, the Lufthansa Group has signed on to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) charter for safe flying under pandemic conditions. In doing so, the Group has committed itself to the strictest infection protection standards in air travel worldwide. By voluntarily implementing this standard, the Lufthansa Group is underlining that the safety of its passengers and employees is always the top priority.

EASA is establishing guidelines that were developed in cooperation with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The Robert Koch Institute is the German representative of the ECDC network. By involving all member states in cooperation with the ECDC, EASA was able to define the strictest rules of an association of states worldwide. Uniform standards have been established which reduce complexity for the airlines and create reliability and additional safety.

The airports of Frankfurt, Munich, Vienna and Brussels have also committed themselves to these guidelines. This means that an interlocking framework for the protection of passengers on the ground and in the air has been established.

Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG: "We have introduced extensive hygiene measures along the entire travel chain to optimally protect our customers and our employees. By signing the EASA charter, we are sending a signal that we as the Lufthansa Group support highest standards and uniform, cross-border rules in air transport. Only with more uniformity and stability in terms of regulation will more customers book flights again."

“We are extremely pleased to have Lufthansa and the entire Lufthansa Group as signatories to our charter,” said EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky. “The addition of such an important and well-respected airline group, with strong representation in multiple regions of Europe, ensures a high standard of safety in travel between major European hubs and will increase the robustness of the feedback we receive. It is important that regulators and industry cooperate closely during these times to apply effective and proportionate measures that will ensure that aviation remains as safe and efficient as ever.”

The Lufthansa Group, together with the industry associations International Air Transport Association (IATA) and Airlines for Europe (A4E), accompanied the development process of the charter from the perspective of aviation practice. Important standards for components such as the anchoring of mandatory masks, filtering of cabin air and increased ventilation of the aircraft on the ground, appropriate cabin cleaning, personal protection measures, working towards digital contact tracking and physical distancing measures on the ground and during boarding/de-boarding have been developed with support from the Lufthansa Group. The Lufthansa Group also implements further protective measures, such as distributing disinfectant wipes to all passengers or offering generous rebooking facilities for its passengers. The Lufthansa Group also has a strict guideline for implementing the obligation to wear masks on board.

The Lufthansa Group will continue to closely monitor the development of the EASA/ECDC guidelines and therefore will transmit key figures to EASA. In addition, the Lufthansa Group enters into a dialogue on the further development of the standards. The focus will be on integrating new scientific and technical findings and operational experience in implementing the standards. The Lufthansa Group is working to ensure that other countries, airlines and airports around the world adopt the EASA standards in order to guarantee the most uniform standards possible for travelers and make a successful contribution to combating the pandemic.

Find more information about the EASA charter here:

• https://www.easa.europa.eu/document-library/general-publications/covid-19-aviation-health-safety-protocol