Lufthansa has decided to cancel the Kuwait – Frankfurt route with the last flight scheduled for September 15, 2024.
Lufthansa has been landing in Kuwait since 1963, over 60 years. They’re blaming the lack of carrying capacity caused by late delivery of new aircrafts from the manufacturer. They’re also planning to reevaluate and improving its network of routes, so they might eventually fly from Kuwait again.
Last year KLM suspended flights to Kuwait blaming lack of profitability. I personally stopped flying both KLM and Lufthansa since Kuwait Airways got the new planes. I just find the Kuwait Airways timings so much better since they fly out in the morning instead of the middle of the night. I’m assuming other people are doing the same.
Update: Seems the Times Kuwait article might be wrong. According to another article, Lufthansa is temporarily suspending flights until September 15 due to the situation in the region. I don’t trust newspapers in Kuwait so I’d believe this website over Times Kuwait. Link
Update2: A reader sent me the screenshot above which was a mid August update that was sent to travel agencies. According to Lufthansa in the screenshot, they decided to discontinue the Frankfurt Kuwait connection from September 16 onwards. Lufthansa currently suspended flights to the region till September 15 due to the situation in the region. This notice is basically saying that even after the 15th they won’t be operating out of Kuwait.
30 replies on “Lufthansa to Suspend Kuwait – Frankfurt Flights”
You seem to be totally forget that Kuwait lacks a lot of air connectivity. KLM and Lufthansa had daily flights to Europe. Something Kuwait Airways do not have. Try to get back and forth on a long weekend to somewhere in Europe and you will see that if Kuwait Airways have a direct outbound flight there won’t be an inbound the day you want to come back or viceversa. Without Lufthansa now probably you’d be forced to connect via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, which same as Kuwait Airways do not serve alcohol on the route to Kuwait. A big con in my opinion. Or you would be forced to connect via Doha or Dubai, making what should be a 5 and a half hour connection to Europe on a direct flight become a 10 hours flight with that extra layover. It is a total tragedy. Also consider that with Lufthansa or KLM would offer you the chance to connect to another secondary city in Europe without having to clear customs and you will add an extra drama to the equation.
Kuwait Airways has pretty much daily flights to European countries, at least the major ones, there are only a few which aren’t daily. Alcohol on the other hand is not really important for me, i can survive 5 hours without drinking.
I really can’t see a scenario where I would wish Lufthansa or KLM were still around. If I’m flying to the US I wouldn’t have wanted to use either of them, they’re really outdated planes. Even if I wanted to fly to European city that Kuwait Airways didn’t fly to, there is Jazeera as an alternative that flies direct to them and like you mentioned Turkish Airlines.
BTW I don’t know what will happen to Kuwait Airways when Terminal 2 opens. Kuwait Airways has very few destinations compared to Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Turkish Airlines. The fact that they aren’t in an alliance doesn’t help
Al Jazeera or KA may fly direct but the key here is codeshare flights on one ticket. Lufthansa/KLM have a ton with different European airlines and it’ll be a big loss especially if you fly to Eastern Europe. You can’t buy AlJazeera and Croatia Airlines tickets in one-go for eg so if the first flight is late, then you’re out of luck.
Agreed!
Recheck your facts about the daily flights to Europe. They do fly twice daily to London, all the other major cities the have only 3 to 4 flights per week (crew is famous as having 48 to 72 hours layover in Europe for that reason) . And some are only during summer. Back to the fact, you cannot plan a 3 day weekend to Europe with Kuwait Airways.
Lufthansa was also the only european carrier left with direct connection to Latin America on a single stop, and both KLM and Lufhtansa offer premium economy/comfort. In the region only Emirates offer that. Which is a big advantage for all of us that can’t afford or are not willing to upgrade to business or first class.
You are also minimizing the fact of alcohol, but having a beer 15 minutes after takeoff or before landing on the way back when living in Kuwait is something most of us westerners are looking forward to do.
I’m not a shareholder in Kuwait Airways and I’m not saying it’s a good thing KLM and Lufthansa stopped flying to Kuwait. I only stated that I personally stopped using KLM and Lufthansa because I prefer flying direct with Kuwait Airways. The fact that Kuwait Airways flies nearly daily to major European cities and every other day to other smaller cities is very convenient for me.
I’m not minimizing alcohol, I think you’re over dramatizing it maybe because you have a different relationship with it. I don’t think most westerners are desperate for a beer right after take off, I think most like me wouldn’t mind a beer after take off but it isn’t the end of the world or an issue if we don’t have one.
THIS! 👆
I remember KLM flights always being filled, and even when I flew with Lufthansa last year, the plane was also filled and was even making a stop to Saudi after Kuwait. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some discrimination going on behind the scenes.
The Lufthansa route has always been Damman-Kuwait-Frankfurt and the other way around. It already fly this route 18 years ago when I was at university, flying back to Kuwait with Lufthansa. I’m curious what kind of “discrimination behind the scenes” you think is going on?
I will miss the easy landing from Lufthansa airlines pilots just like I miss from KLM. Those pilot really know how to fly and you wouldn’t feel like it was going to crash off the runway.
Absolutely!
This news article is horseshit as you called it. My Lufthansa inboubd flight is still on right now (1st week Sep) and no I would never trade their service, food, connectivity across Europe and comfort over ‘newer planes’.
Lufthansa and KLM are in a class of their own. KU has its advantages like the T4, new planes but it stops there for me.
As an example, ever tried an online booking process compare between KU, Lufthansa and KLM and do a refund or rebooking? KU did not hold a candle next to them.
Check again, Lufthansa cancelled all fright since 22 Aug.
Dang it, yes. Time to rebook!
James, I made my booking over 40 days ago for 5 Sep on Lufthansa, up until last night, all was good according to them. At 0300, I received an email saying both legs are cancelled, no reason, no re-booking, just an offer to refund my purchase. They also cancelled numerous other coworkers within the last week. Even though they say they will continue service until 15 Sept!! Poor customer service, poor planning
Your flight has been canceled since the start of the month since Lufthansa hasn’t been flying to Kuwait since.
I think it was August 4th when Lufthansa announced it was stopping all flights to Kuwait UNTIL September 15th. So if your flight was September 5 it hasn’t been valid for a few weeks now. The new announcement is that they’re no longer going to resume flying to Kuwait after the 15th.
I miss KLM for the connectivity (eg. to Portugal) and for their warm service. Somehow I never enjoyed KU, their service is still poor and there’s always some shit going on like people cutting queues or doing drama on the plane.
Yeah I agree, the KU on flight service is one of my least favorites. Everytime I ask for anything they make me feel like I’m a burden.
It’s worrying to see many foreign airlines terminating their services. British Airways is now one of the few European carriers still operating here. With the other airlines like KLM, ITA (which was supposed to launch in July but canceled), Wizz Air (the airline that offered 13KD flights to Abu Dhabi are stopping their flights from September), and now Lufthansa leaving, the reduced competition means we’ll face higher prices for the same flights. KLM and Lufthansa were super useful for traveling to the States and Canada, as they allowed for shorter flights to stretch our legs instead of one ultra long haul flight. My point being, less competition = customers are screwed.
And this is on a country where not a lot of people live, where entertainment/tourism is far behind compared to Qatar and Dubai, UAE, despite having a “National Development Plan” that is meant to be complete in 2035, and where there’s a new airport terminal that was beautifully designed but took a long ass time to build meaning we instead have a small and old airport terminal that’s designed by a Japanese. Not Qatar, not the UAE, not the western world , not Thailand, not Rwanda, and not Japan. It’s kinda unsurprising that many foreign airlines are terminating their services to Kuwait but, at the same time, I agree with you, it’s worrying
What’s wrong with having an airport designed by a Japanese? The new terminal isn’t designed by a Kuwaiti either. National development plan doesn’t have to mean everything is designed or made by Kuwaitis. The Qatar airport wasn’t designed by a Qatari, and the Dubai airport wasn’t designed by an Emirati.
Mark, I’m sorry if I exaggerated it. IMO the terminal 1 has 2 problems: It’s an eye sore compared to the old days because of the billboards and the signs, and restaurants are placed poorly. Want KFC before you leave? Too bad! You need to be at the airport mall, which is before the immigration. The design is at least decent but there’s poor placement, so probably poor management. Another proof that either it’s poor management or just that the terminal is small is that Skytrax said that the airport is congested. Sorry if I confused you
As Orlando as my destination, only two choices were available without spending a 16 hr flight from Dubai (after taking a flight from KU to Dubai). Either BA (which I do NOT LIKE as we arrive at Heathrow and have to transfer to Gatwick to get on
flight to Orlando (and BA seems to be famous for going on strike during busy season) OR the trusty Lufthansa flight we’ve taken for years which we spend the night after going to Frankfurt then leave to Orlando the next day. We used to go KLM until THEY QUIT Q8 but now they go to Miami from Amaterdam.. Solution: we have to book 2 tickets each-KU to Frankfurt then Luftsansa from Frankfurt-Orlando. But now only bag allowance is ONE per person. Travelling used to be fun…the airlines are making it more like work and it’s no fun anymore. It is exhausting and very ‘iffy’ with many problems within the airline industry that the travellers suffer for.
That sucks, and well that’s how capitalism works nowadays: businesses always look for profit and don’t care about their customers. Take a look into AI generators, for example. The companies behind them, rather than offer a one-time fee, instead charge a subscription for the full version so that they can make more profit.
*most business, not all
*most businesses. Sorry for the spelling mistake!
lol sorry what? What does Ai companies charging a subscription fee instead of a one time fee have to do with capitalism?
Firstly, it’s actually some businesses, not most. Sorry. Secondly, I realized that the point was supposed to be that some businesses look for profit so much they will have poor marketing
We have been flying to US for last ten years. Huge loss for all the traveller’s. Prices were always reasonable compared to Emirates, Qatar or Etihad. So do travel time. Kuwait Airways has very few destinations in US and Canada. Big loss
We’re just going backwards.
Looks like every bit of freedom here only starts with a flight to Dubai first. Will just need to Plan a day or two and drop some extra cash in Dubai to get better rates and travel experience to the rest of the world now i guess.