German flag carrier Lufthansa Group has formally closed the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) of its former low-cost subsidiary Germanwings, marking the definitive end of an era for the once-prominent brand that pioneered no-frills flying in Germany.
The move, reported in early February 2026 by industry sources, finalises a process that began years earlier when Germanwings ceased independent passenger operations in April 2020 amid the coronavirus crisis and was gradually absorbed into Eurowings operations under a single AOC structure.
Germanwings, originally launched in 1997 and acquired by Lufthansa in 2009, had operated as a low-cost carrier with its own identity until 2016, when it transitioned to wet-leasing aircraft and crews to Eurowings while retaining its separate AOC. Following the 2020 decision to discontinue flight operations as part of broader cost-cutting and restructuring, the subsidiary’s fleet of Airbus A319s flew under the Eurowings brand and code. The parent group had signalled intentions to abandon the Germanwings AOC as early as 2019, but the formal closure—now confirmed—consolidates regulatory oversight and streamlines administrative overhead within the Lufthansa family’s low-cost arm.
The decision aligns with ongoing efforts to simplify the group’s structure, reduce the number of separate AOCs, and focus resources on core brands such as Eurowings for short-haul leisure and point-to-point services. Germanwings’ legacy includes its role in democratising air travel across Europe but also carries the shadow of the tragic 2015 Alps crash, after which safety protocols across the industry were tightened. With no aircraft or routes tied to the defunct AOC in recent years, its revocation represents a housekeeping measure rather than an operational shift, though it symbolically draws a line under a chapter that once challenged established carriers with aggressive pricing and high-frequency domestic links.
Lufthansa continues to evolve its low-cost strategy through Eurowings, which has expanded in recent years with new bases and fleet modernisations, while newer entities like City Airlines handle regional feeder roles under separate certificates.
