Airlines Impacted as Germany’s FTI Touristik Files for Bankruptcy

European charter airlines operating out of Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands face financial repercussions following FTI Touristik GmbH’s bankruptcy filing on June 3, 2024. FTI Touristik, part of Europe’s third-largest tour operator FTI Group, filed for insolvency at the District Court of Munich, affecting numerous airlines and travelers.

The bankruptcy primarily impacts the tour operator brand FTI Touristik. The company announced that additional bankruptcy applications from other firms within the group would follow. All services booked through FTI Touristik are affected, including its brands in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, as well as 5vorFlug, BigXtra Touristik, and car hire brands DriveFTI, Cars&Campers, and Meeting Point Rent-a-Car. However, services booked with third-party providers like TUI Group, Alltours, Dertour, and vtours remain unaffected. Windrose Finest Travel, including the luxury brand Windrose, will continue operations.

FTI Touristik is prioritizing support for affected travelers, setting up a dedicated support website and hotline. The company is working to ensure that ongoing trips covered by the German Travel Security Fund (Deutscher Reisesicherungsfonds – DRSF) proceed as planned. For trips starting after June 4, disruptions are expected, but efforts are underway to manage and mitigate the impact.

According to Germany’s Die Zeit newspaper, up to 65,000 holidaymakers currently traveling with FTI Touristik could be affected. The German federal government does not anticipate a large-scale state repatriation effort, as seen after Thomas Cook Group’s bankruptcy in 2019, because the DRSF insures most of the package tours sold by FTI Touristik. The travel insurance fund has assured support for package holidaymakers affected by FTI’s insolvency.

Charter carriers expected to be hit include Condor, SunExpress, Corendon Airlines, SmartLynx Airlines, and Marabu. A Condor spokesperson expressed regret over the developments at FTI but noted that recent decreases in booking volumes from FTI might mitigate the impact. Condor assured that it would honor return flights for affected passengers.

SunExpress confirmed it would bring affected passengers home in compliance with DRSF requirements. The airline is also prepared to adjust its capacity to meet demand for travel to Turkey and Egypt.

Marabu, working as Condor’s General Sales Agent, deferred comments to Condor. Other charter carriers are yet to provide statements.

FTI Touristik explained that despite a positive investor announcement in April 2024, booking figures fell short of expectations. This, coupled with suppliers demanding advance payments, led to liquidity issues and the subsequent bankruptcy filing. The company’s pre-existing financial struggles were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, despite receiving substantial financial support from the federal government and UniCredit Bank.

In April, US investor Certares announced plans to acquire FTI Touristik, assume its debt, and inject fresh capital. However, delays in finalizing the takeover forced FTI Touristik into insolvency.

Founded in 1983, FTI Touristik employs 11,000 people across 90 subsidiaries worldwide. The group reported sales of EUR 4.1 billion (USD 4.4 billion) for the 2022-23 financial year.