Mission Accomplished - Lufthansa Group Concludes Successful Repatriation Flight Program

Mission Accomplished! This morning, the last scheduled repatriation flight for

German and European citizens arrived in Frankfurt from Lima, Peru, thus completing

Lufthansa’s successful relief-flight program that brought home around

90,000 travelers.

The implementation of worldwide travel restrictions due to the Coronavirus pandemic

resulted in an unprecedented number of people needing to return to their

respective home countries since mid-March. The Lufthansa Group Passenger

Airlines have all supported their respective governments and home markets by

providing safe and much-needed relief flights. Now, at just over one month, the

repatriation flight programs of the various European governments and numerous

tourism providers are nearing completion.

Since March 13, Lufthansa Group airlines operated a total of 437 special

flights, which have departed from 106 airports worldwide - from New Zealand all

the way to Chile – with Europe as the end destination. In the coming days, 11

more relief flights from the other Group carriers will follow. The governments of

Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, in particular, but also tour operators

and cruise lines, have ordered these return flights from Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines,

Brussels Airlines, Edelweiss, Eurowings, Lufthansa and SWISS.

Additionally, the Lufthansa Group operated 94 special cargo flights with relief supplies

on board.

Approximately 40 airports around the world were not regular destinations that the

Lufthansa Group serviced. Furthermore, these repatriation flights consisted of additional

planning and personnel for handling, catering and cockpit / cabin crew accommodations.

Fuel and maintenance was also organized in a very short amount

of time. The local embassies and diplomatic representatives, as well as the German

Foreign Office, also provided support, especially with regard to the necessary

overflight and traffic rights. Further challenges included local curfews, rapidly

changing restrictions and partially closed airports.