Lufthansa wants 740,000 euros in damages from climate activists who stopped air traffic at various German airports earlier this year. Subsidiary Eurowings has filed the claim on behalf of Lufthansa Group, German media report after reporting in Bild am Sonntag. The activists forced their way into several airports, including Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin, last year and shut them down for hours. Eurowings is now claiming 740,000 euros in damages from the organization “Last Generation” on behalf of the entire Lufthansa Group. Eurowings already threatened in October that the damage caused by the actions would be recovered from those responsible. Insiders speculated at the time that the amount would be in the millions. At Hamburg Airport, 57 Lufthansa Group flights (Lufthansa, Eurowings and Swiss) were affected during protests on July 13 this year and 8,500 passengers were affected. This caused a loss of 400,000 euros. Also on July 13, 24 flights and 3,000 passengers were affected at Düsseldorf Airport. Here, according to Bild, the damage was 220,000 euros. During protests at Berlin-Brandenburg, in November 2022, 35 flights and 5,000 passengers were affected. Six suspects are said to have already received a claim of 120,000 euros. The activists stated that they were protesting to point out the negative climate effects of air traffic. In all three actions, members of the group were arrested after gluing themselves to the runways. The police have been investigating the people who may now have to pay compensation. According to the newspaper, Condor and Tuifly are also considering claims. The German Minister of Transport has announced that the aviation safety law will be tightened. “Blockades of airports with the aim of disrupting operations there far exceed the limits of legitimate protest.” (Photo: Shutterstock).
