20 August 2025 — Düsseldorf
The Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court has sided with Lufthansa in a high-profile dispute with the German competition watchdog, overturning a ruling that had forced the airline to restore special contractual terms with rival carrier Condor.
In its decision on Wednesday, the court’s 1st Cartel Senate, chaired by Judge Alexandra Poling-Fleuß, annulled a 2022 order by the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) which had found Lufthansa in breach of antitrust law for terminating a long-standing agreement with Condor.
The arrangement dated back to 2009, when Condor was still part of Lufthansa. It allowed Condor to combine its long-haul flights with Lufthansa’s short-haul services under a special pricing settlement. Lufthansa ended the agreement in 2020, prompting the competition authority to intervene two years later. The Bundeskartellamt ruled that Lufthansa must reinstate special agreements under defined conditions.
Lufthansa appealed, and in 2024 the court temporarily suspended the cartel authority’s order, citing “serious doubts” about its legality. The ruling issued today makes that suspension permanent, with the Senate concluding that the decision was formally unlawful due to concerns over bias within the authority’s decision-making division.
The judges noted that an altered version of an internal memorandum had been circulated during a file inspection, raising questions about impartiality. Although both Condor and the Federal Cartel Office later indicated they would not rely on the contested order, the court held that the case remained relevant, as civil claims against Lufthansa could still be pursued on the basis of the original findings.
The ruling is not yet final. While the Senate denied leave to appeal, the competition authority has already filed a complaint challenging that refusal.
The case underscores the continuing tension between Lufthansa, Germany’s largest airline, and Condor, a former subsidiary now operating independently, over access to feeder flights that link domestic and European routes with long-haul services.
