Deutsche Lufthansa Aktiengesellschaft controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
2015
Germanwings Flight 9525 and crisis communication
The deliberate crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 in the French Alps killed all 150 people aboard. Lufthansa faced scrutiny over how its leadership communicated information about the co-pilot’s medical condition and the airline’s earlier public characterization of his fitness to fly. The event remains a major safety and reputational crisis associated with the Lufthansa Group.
1999
Forced labor and the wartime history of Deutsche Luft Hansa
Lufthansa acknowledged the use of forced labor by its predecessor during the Nazi period and participated in a German initiative intended to address wartime labor abuses. The company also commissioned historical research. Critics later objected to the delayed publication of the resulting study and to the limited prominence given to the subject in corporate history narratives.