Many Lufthansa passengers had to deal with cancellations and delays on Wednesday. The cause was comparatively trivial, but had a serious impact on operations.
A black day for the infrastructure in Germany: During the urgently needed expansion of a railway line between Frankfurt and Kassel, an excavator cuts the Lufthansa fiber optic cable. The next morning, their backup fails. How did this happen and what does that mean for the passengers? The most important questions and answers.
How did the problems at Lufthansa come about?
After a few hectic hours, the cause of the computer problems was found on Wednesday morning. There were no nefarious hackers at work, but rather unsuspecting construction workers had already severed four fiber optic cables from Deutsche Telekom on a railway line in Frankfurt on Tuesday evening.
Why did Lufthansa’s systems only collapse several hours after the damage?
The fiber optic lines were actually already damaged on Tuesday. At 9:06 p.m. on Twitter, Deutsche Telekom pointed out that a concrete drill had cut the lines. At this time, Lufthansa’s systems were still running. There is much to suggest that Lufthansa had replacement lines that were diverted to on Tuesday evening. One can only speculate about the reasons why these replacement lines could not handle the data traffic on Wednesday. This is also the subject of internal investigations.
Does Lufthansa not have sufficient alternative lines?
It is actually standard for operators of critical infrastructure to have double and triple security, says Rüdiger Trost, an expert at the IT security company Withsecure. At the same time, attempts are made to avoid bottleneck constructions. “If an IT system fails unexpectedly, there is a backup system that takes over the work, comparable to a spare tire in a car.” It still has to be clarified why switching to the replacement lines on Wednesday led to the failures.
How many passengers were affected?
This is not exactly known. “No one here has time to add it up exactly,” said Lufthansa. The planners would not only have to work through the current upheavals, but also prepare for the Verdi strike planned for Friday at seven German airports. According to the operator Fraport, there were around 230 cancellations at Frankfurt Airport on Wednesday, mainly of Lufthansa flights. With an average occupancy, around 40,000 passengers come together here.
How much does the breakdown cost? Who is liable?
The damage is likely to quickly run into the millions, and Lufthansa will presumably stick to its service providers. A railway spokeswoman said the question of liability came too early. “We are currently clarifying together with Telekom and the construction company how the damage could have happened.” Lufthansa also wants to clarify the situation instead of clearly assigning blame.
Has anything like this ever happened?
Flight cancellations or delays due to IT problems occur again and again in air traffic. It was not until January that a computer glitch at the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) brought most air traffic to a standstill in the United States. In total, more than 10,000 flights were delayed in the USA as a result. More than 1300 dropped out. The programming error broke down a system that gives pilots safety-related information about upcoming flights. The FAA therefore issued a take-off ban for a few hours. In the summer of 2022, the airspace over Switzerland was closed for hours because of a hardware defect in Skyguide air traffic control. About 7,000 passengers were affected. 70 flights were canceled.
What happens to diverted aircraft and passengers?
Lufthansa had to accommodate the transfer passengers who were stranded at other airports on Wednesday and try to rebook them on a flight on Wednesday or Thursday. In this context, it is by no means only flights that are possible within the group, but also connections from other companies. Rail connections were available to destinations in Germany and to neighboring countries. A bigger problem arises with luggage that is stranded in Frankfurt without the passengers who have traveled on. The resolution of such a mountain of suitcases can take weeks and months, as was recently shown in Munich.
Do passengers get their money back?
They are not stuck with the ticket costs. Current passenger rights provide for the following: If the flight is canceled or delayed by more than three hours, the airline must offer an alternative – this can be a different flight or the ticket can be converted into a train ticket. If a flight is canceled or delayed by more than five hours, passengers have a second option in addition to rerouting: request a refund. Then they have to take care of themselves how to get there.
Are there any compensations?
When claiming possible additional compensation payments under EU law of up to 600 euros, the central question is whether the failure of the IT systems is Lufthansa’s responsibility or not. If not, one would speak of an extraordinary circumstance and the company would not have to pay. There are different views among legal experts as to whether this is the case.
How long will it take for the effects to resolve?
The failure has messed up the circulation of most Lufthansa machines. This is more problematic with long-haul aircraft than with short-haul jets, which usually land back at their place of departure in the evening. At the Lufthansa Aviation Center at Frankfurt Airport, the planners were faced with a night shift to reorganize the deployment of machines and crews and to rebook passengers accordingly. The Verdi strike announced for Friday at seven German airports, which also threatens to paralyze the hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, is of little help. In order to ensure a quick restart on Saturday, the jets must therefore be brought into the correct position on Thursday evening. Some delays are therefore also to be expected on Thursday.
Is the train overloaded because of the transfer passengers?
No, according to Deutsche Bahn, only a “slightly increased demand” was recorded on the trains. “Around 200 long-distance trains arrive at Frankfurt Airport every day, making Frankfurt Airport the sixth-largest station in Germany,” the group said. “Due to Frankfurt Airport’s very good long-distance connections, the passengers who transferred had good travel alternatives and the trains usually had sufficient capacity.” The day of the week also played a role: on Wednesdays there is usually not as much going on in long-distance traffic as on Fridays just before the weekend.
Source: Stern
