faq
Today and tomorrow Germans can leave Israel, which is under attack by Hamas, on special Lufthansa flights. What requirements do they have to meet? What options are there without a German passport? An overview.
Who can book the special flights?
German citizens and their family members who have previously registered on the website can register “Elephant” precautionary list for crisis information. According to the Foreign Office on Wednesday, that was 5,000 people.
According to the Foreign Office, the regular entry requirements to Germany apply to foreign family members on special flights – all persons must therefore be in possession of valid travel documents and, if necessary, visas or residence permits. There are more than 100,000 people with German citizenship or dual nationality in Israel. According to previous estimates, 300 to 400 people in the Gaza Strip have a German passport.
How does booking work?
All “Elefand” registrants received a so-called compatriot letter from the German embassy in Israel on Wednesday afternoon. It mentions a Lufthansa hotline through which you can register.
However, there were apparently problems with the booking. Several German citizens reported on Wednesday that the hotline set up by Lufthansa could not be reached despite more than 100 calls, reported the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. There is also no waiting loop, just a busy signal. There were also corresponding complaints on social media platforms. The airline is working hard on a solution, the “SZ” report said, citing the Foreign Office.
When and where should the flights start?
The first flight took off from Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon towards Frankfurt. A total of two flights are scheduled to go to Munich and two to Frankfurt on Thursday and Friday. The other flights are also scheduled to take off from Tel Aviv. The departure times on both days should be 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. (local time). The flights are expected to have a total capacity of around 1,000 people per day.
What do people do if they can’t get a seat on the plane?
Around 2,000 people can fly on the four Lufthansa flights, but there are around 5,000 German citizens on the “Elefand” list. The federal government is counting on regular air traffic to start again soon, said BR correspondent Philip Kuntschner in the Morning magazine. “Of course we hope that this can be achieved with scheduled flights in the next few days so that people can get out of here,” said Kuntschner.
Is it even safe to fly right now?
Hamas is still firing rockets at Israel and there are repeated air alarms. Also BR correspondent Philip Kuntschner experienced this when he was on the plane from Cyprus to Tel Aviv: “We arrived at exactly the moment when there was a rocket alarm, when the sirens on the ground could be heard in Israel.”
The plane had to circle in the air for 30 minutes until it was safe enough to land. “Permission to take off and land will only be granted when you can be absolutely sure,” he said Kuntschner.
The Foreign Office has informed those wishing to leave in advance that getting to the airport is their own responsibility. “Weigh any risks carefully,” the letter continues. Changes are possible at any time due to the volatile security situation. The Foreign Office cannot therefore guarantee that the flights can actually take place as planned.
Do those who are flown out have to contribute to the costs?
Yes. A fee of 300 euros per person is due, which is collected directly by the Lufthansa hotline on behalf of the Foreign Office when booking. A credit card is required for this. According to dpa information, Lufthansa charges 550 euros per person, and the state covers 250 euros.
What is the role of Lufthansa?
As in previous cases, the airline acts as a service provider for the Federal Republic. On its own responsibility, the group had already decided on Saturday that its airlines would no longer fly to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv for safety reasons. The Foreign Office announced that Lufthansa was continuing to check whether scheduled flights would be possible again from Sunday due to the situation. Similar to the Corona flights, volunteer crews were sought for the special flights chartered by the government.
Are there other flights besides Lufthansa?
Yes. The Federal Foreign Office recommends that those wishing to leave the country contact their tour operator or another airline and regularly check the offers. Commercial flights would continue to operate from Ben Gurion International Airport. Connections to other countries with stopovers in Cyprus should also be considered in order to fly on to Germany from there.
Several airlines, notably the Israeli airline El Al, continue to fly to destinations in Europe. El Al is even expanding its flight offerings. On Wednesday, the Foreign Office also wrote that the airline EasyJet is currently examining whether it can offer flights from Tel Aviv again in the next few days.
Lesser-known companies are also recommended, such as the Cypriot TUS-Airways, which offers direct flights to Düsseldorf, but also Arkia Israeli Airlines, the second largest Israeli airline, or the Israeli airline Israir.
What other options are there to leave Israel?
By land: The Foreign Office also recommends that Germans leave the country by land via Jordan. The German ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, said in an RTL interview that the embassy helped about 100 Germans get to the Jordanian capital Amman in four buses. The vast majority of those wanting to leave have already booked a connecting flight from Amman.
By ferry: There are connections between Israeli and European Mediterranean ports. The German embassy in Israel points to a private shipping company that operates the route between Haifa in northern Israel and Cyprus.
Is the Bundeswehr involved?
In recent years, the federal government has sent Air Force aircraft and heavily armed soldiers several times to fly German citizens and other people in need of protection out of war zones.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius made it clear on the sidelines of a meeting of the Defense Committee in Berlin that this is now fundamentally possible in the event of an escalation in Israel. “We are always ready to do what needs to be done if the situation in Israel and the foreign policy assessment of the Chancellery and the Foreign Office allow it,” said the SPD politician. In the federal government, the civilian options and contracts with Lufthansa are first exhausted before the military is deployed.
What are other countries doing?
Poland had already set up an airlift on Monday to bring its citizens to safety. Switzerland offered its first special flight on Tuesday. Norway, Denmark and Sweden also wanted to organize such flights for their citizens on Wednesday. Shuttle flights planned from Wednesday with an Austrian Army aircraft between Larnaca in Cyprus and Tel Aviv Airport could not take place for the time being due to a technical defect. France wants to bring citizens back to their home country on a special flight this Thursday.