Lufthansa Bailout Hinges on Refunds for Canceled Tickets
- German government asked EU to change rules on refunds
- Lufthansa had 4 billion euro unused ticket liability end-2019
This article is for subscribers only.
The size of the German government bailout for national carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG depends on whether or not the airline will be forced to pay billions of euros in refunds to customers.
Lufthansa, with most of its fleet grounded due to coronavirus lockdowns, had about 4 billion euros ($4.35 billion) in unused ticket money at the end of December, according to the company’s annual report. If the European Union enforces rules that the company has to issue refunds to passengers who demand them, that would wipe out much of the airline’s remaining liquidity, increasing the size of the government’s intervention.