Tarmac Delay Contingency Plan

It is Lufthansa’s aim to make every flight a safe and pleasant experience and further enhance customer comfort on the ground and in the air. Lufthansa’s Contingency Plan for Lengthy Tarmac Delays (“Contingency Plan”) is another step to reach this goal.

This Contingency Plan has been developed to reflect our commitment as a full-service premium carrier and to provide our passengers with clear information about what they can expect from us, particularly during occasional irregular operations. The Contingency Plan contains specific commitments which will allow us to act promptly to meet our customer’s needs and expectations. 
The Contingency Plan is adopted for the departure or arrival of international flights at covered U.S. airports operated with an aircraft equal to or greater than 30 passenger seats by Lufthansa. This Contingency Plan is subject to change without notice and is separate from and does not form part of Lufthansa’s Contract of Carriage. 

Lufthansa’s Commitment to its Customers: 

For international flights covered by this Contingency Plan, Lufthansa will not permit an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than four hours and return to the gate, or another suitable disembarkation point, where passengers will be allowed to deplane.

Delays longer than four hours may be necessary if there are safety-related or security-related restrictions or air traffic control advises the pilot-in-command that returning to the gate or permitting passengers to disembark elsewhere would significantly disrupt airport operations.

Lufthansa will provide information about a change in the status of a flight within 30 minutes after becoming aware of such a change and will update delay information every 30 minutes thereafter, including reasons for the delay, if known.

Passengers on delayed flights will be notified beginning 30 minutes after scheduled departure time, including any revised departure time that passengers were notified about during boarding, and every 30 minutes thereafter that they have the opportunity to deplane from an aircraft that is at the gate or another disembarkation area with the door open if the opportunity to deplane actually exists.

For all flights covered by this Contingency Plan, Lufthansa will provide adequate food and potable water no later than two hours after the aircraft leaves the gate (in the case of departure) or touches down (in the case of arrival) if the aircraft remains on the tarmac.

Service may be precluded if there are safety-related or security-related restrictions or the pilot-in-command determines that the commencement of service would lead to further delays or missed opportunities for departure.

For all flights covered by this Contingency Plan, Lufthansa will provide operable lavatory facilities, as well as adequate medical attention if needed, while the aircraft remains on the tarmac. 

Lufthansa has sufficient resources to implement this Contingency Plan. 

Lufthansa has coordinated this Contingency Plan with local airport authorities, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at each U.S. large hub airport, medium hub airport, small hub airport and non-hub airport that the carrier serves, as well as its regular U.S. diversion airport.