German air freight carrier Lufthansa Cargo says it has suspended all transport of military and security-related goods to and from Israel, citing a British export control directive and related sanctions. The announcement comes as Germany’s new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, is in Israel for his first official visit.
“Lufthansa Cargo fully complies with all applicable laws and regulations,” a company spokesman said in an emailed statement.
“Due to the UK Export Control Order and relevant sanctions, the transport of military equipment and components to and from Tel Aviv is currently not possible for Lufthansa Cargo, independent of the routing. We are working on a solution to enable respective shipments,” the spokesman added.
Merz’s visit follows a ceremony last week in Germany marking the handover of Israel’s Arrow 3 long-range missile defense system to the German Air Force — a 4 billion euro ($4.6 billion) deal and the largest defense export in Israel’s history.
Lufthansa Cargo resumed full cargo service to Israel on August 1 with seven weekly flights using Boeing 777 and Airbus 321 aircraft. The Lufthansa Group had suspended all Israel flights in early June during Israel’s operation against Iran before gradually returning to regular schedules later in the summer.
This month the group is expanding its Israel service, increasing weekly flights from 64 to 74. Lufthansa operates about 21 flights a week from Frankfurt and 14 from Munich, alongside subsidiaries including Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, ITA, and Eurowings.