Deutsche Lufthansa (East Germany)


Deutsche Lufthansa was an airline serving as the flag carrier of East Germany from 1955 to 1963.
Because of the usage of the Lufthansa branding the East German company was under constant legal pressure, and was subsequently liquidated and replaced by Interflug.

History

On 27 April 1955, East Germany and the Soviet Union signed an agreement by which Berlin Schönefeld Airport was transferred to civilian use. As a consequence, the Council of Ministers of the GDR decided to set up a national East German airline, a move which was finalized on 1 July with the appointment of the company's initial management committee. Deutsche Lufthansa was chosen as name for the airline, even though the branding rights had been purchased by West German Lufthansa in 1954.
Deutsche Lufthansa acquired a fleet of Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft, which were initially operated by Soviet crews. The first flight of the airline took place on 16 September 1955, by which East German prime minister Otto Grotewohl travelled to Moscow for a state visit. Scheduled passenger flights were launched on 4 February 1956 with the inauguration of the East Berlin-Warsaw service. In the same year, the route network was expanded to include Moscow and Sofia as its most remote points. On 28 March 1960, the Ilyushin Il-18 was put into service with Deutsche Lufthansa.
Because of the usage of the Lufthansa branding, the company was sued by West German Lufthansa. As a side effect, the East German airline was prevented from being admitted into the International Air Transport Association. As a consequence, Deutsche Lufthansa was liquidated on 1 September 1963. Its staff, fleet and route network were transferred to Interflug, which had been founded as a state-owned charter airline in 1958 and served as East German flag carrier thenceforth.

Route network

Deutsche Lufthansa served the following destinations on a scheduled basis. As airline code for its flight numbers, DH was used.
CountryCityAirportCommencedCeased
AlbaniaTiranaTirana Airport
BulgariaSofiaSofia Airport1956
CzechoslovakiaPragueRuzyně Airport1956
East GermanyBarthBarth Airport1958
East GermanyEast BerlinSchönefeld Airport
1956
East GermanyDresdenKlotzsche Airport1958
East GermanyErfurtErfurt Airport1958
East GermanyKarl-Marx-StadtJahnsdorf Airfield1958
East GermanyLeipzigLeipzig/Halle Airport1956
HungaryBudapestFerihegy Airport1956
PolandWarsawOkęcie Airport1956
RomaniaBucharestBăneasa Airport1956
Soviet UnionMoscowVnukovo Airport1956
Soviet UnionVilniusVilnius Airport1956
YugoslaviaBelgradeBelgrade Airport

Citations