DALLAS — Condor Airlines (DE) recently notified San Antonio International Airport (SAT) and several other U.S. and Canadian airports that, due to a ruling by the German Federal Court of Justice, the carrier will discontinue service to Frankfurt in 2025.

On Friday, the German court overturned a longstanding measure requiring Lufthansa (LH) to provide feeder flights to DE's network. This allowed passengers from North America to fly on DE to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) and connect on a LH flight with checked bags to their final destination.

Following this ruling, DE decided to adapt its schedules for next year by discontinuing its service from FRA to Baltimore (BWI), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP), Phoenix (PHX), and SAT in the U.S., and Edmonton (YEG) and Halifax (YHZ) in Canada.

“This is not a decision we take lightly. Condor has cultivated strong professional and personal ties with San Antonio and the other affected communities over the years, and we deeply regret the loss of connectivity and service this will cause. We remain committed to exploring all avenues for fair competition, though we recognize that further legal proceedings will take time to resolve,” said Dr. Jens Boyd, Commercial Director for Condor.

Condor's Frankfurt flight was SAT's first and only transatlantic service. On May 18 of this year, the inaugural took off from FRA with flight number DE2137 operated by an Airbus A330-900, marking an important milestone for the Texan city. As per the City of San Antonio release, securing the region’s first-ever nonstop service to Europe was "one of numerous accomplishments for SAT in a historic 2024."

"With Condor’s nonstop service," the release states, "the number of passengers flying from SAT to Europe increased 30 percent this summer, reaching nearly 450 passengers daily in each direction, positioning the region to compete for future transatlantic service."

Condor flew three times a week from FRA to SAT, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The news comes just weeks after SAT broke ground on its new US$1.2 billion Terminal, which is set to accommodate San Antonio region’s rapid growth and expansion.  

The new Terminal will feature up to 17 gates, more than 800,000 square feet of new terminal space, 35,700 square feet of concessions space, and 29,000 square feet of club lounge space.

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