Lufthansa lobbying to block Emirates access to Berlin
Lufthansa is reportedly lobbying the German Government to deny Emirates' request for landing slots at Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport. According to Berlin Mayor Harald Wolf, Emirates has been requesting flights to the German capital since 2004.
- Lufthansa is lobbying the German Government to deny Emirates' request for landing slots at Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport.
- Emirates has been requesting flights to Berlin since 2004.
- The Berlin government is willing to grant rights to Emirates, but the federal government is being influenced by Lufthansa's lobbying efforts.
- Middle East carriers, including Emirates and Qatar Airways, are eager to expand their European destinations but face resistance from major European carriers.
- TAP Portugal President mentioned Qatar Airways' interest in establishing routes to Portugal, potentially adding traffic at TAP hubs.
- Lufthansa's shares were up 0.5% while other European carriers' shares were generally down.
The mayor stated the Berlin government is keen to grant rights to Emirates, but the difficulty remains the federal government, which has had "very strong lobbying from Lufthansa" to not grant rights. An Emirates spokesperson said the airline remains hopeful that Germany would support its request for landing slots at the new airport.
Several Middle East carriers have been eager to develop more destinations into Europe, but have faced resistance from Europe's largest carriers, including Lufthansa, Air France-KLM and British Airways. TAP Portugal President, Fernando Pinto, stated over the weekend that Qatar Airways is interested in establishing routes from Doha to Portugal, a move that could potentially add traffic at TAP hubs.
Shares in Lufthansa were up 0.5% on Friday, while peer carriers were generally down: Iberia (-1.7%), British Airways (-1.6%), Turkish Airlines (-0.8%) and Air France-KLM Group (-0.3%).
Selected European airlines daily share price movements (% change): 14-Jan-2011
