Lufthansa lobbies against Emirates in Germany: Berlin Mayor

Lufthansa is reportedly lobbying Germany's government to deny Emirates' request for more landing slots at Berlin-Brandenburg International Airport (Arabian Business/The National, 16-Jan-2011). Berlin mayor Harald Wolf said the airline has been requesting flights to the German capital since 2004. 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 BBI.

Lufthansa: "We think there is a big imbalance in the allocation of slots … Emirates already flies to four airports in Germany while we only fly to one destination in Dubai. They have between five and six times more business on that route as a result … We can't predict what decision the German government will take. We can only express our opinion … There is no bilateral air traffic relationship with any other country that is as unequal as between Germany and Dubai." Jurgen Weber, Chairman. Source: The National, 15-Jan-2011.