A civil hearing over compensation linked to the 2015 Germanwings crash opens in Braunschweig on Friday, with 30 relatives seeking additional damages from the Federal Republic of Germany. The case centres on whether aviation medical oversight of the co-pilot was adequate and whether statutory duties were properly fulfilled, while the state is represented by the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt. The A320 crashed in the French Alps on the Barcelona-Düsseldorf route after the co-pilot deliberately flew the aircraft into terrain, killing 150 people.
The Landgericht Braunschweig has already indicated to the parties that the claim may face legal difficulties, with plaintiffs potentially needing to direct their case against the airline rather than the state. That preliminary view could narrow the relatives’ chances of obtaining further compensation from German authorities.
The hearing comes more than a decade after one of Europe’s worst aviation disasters and keeps the Germanwings case active in the civil courts. It also turns attention back to liability questions in flight fitness checks, aviation medical supervision and the boundary between state oversight and airline responsibility.