Overview
- Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder urged a joint baggage-transfer system so travelers could check luggage at city stations for transport to their flights.
- Lufthansa Airlines chief Jens Ritter and BDF president and Condor CEO Peter Gerber endorsed station check-in as a convenience customers want.
- Deutsche Bahn welcomed ideas to improve travel chains but warned that station-based baggage drop-off poses "immense" operational, legal and financial challenges.
- Existing models show partial feasibility, including Vienna’s City Airport Train city check-in and Frankfurt’s Air-Rail Center, alongside long-running Rail&Fly and Lufthansa Express Rail partnerships.
- Commentary called for pilot projects to test acceptance and logistics, while noting DB’s punctuality and liability arrangements would need improvement before any wider rollout.