Lufthansa Group has confirmed that its twice-daily Munich–Dresden service will continue beyond the 2025 summer timetable, easing fears that the domestic shuttle would be axed as part of wider cost-cutting across German regional routes. The decision was announced on 12 December after weeks of negotiations between the carrier, Saxony’s state government and Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG, the operator of Dresden and Leipzig/Halle airports.
In October, Mitteldeutsche Flughafen CEO Götz Ahmelmann had warned that high airport charges and staff costs in Germany were threatening the commercial viability of several short-haul routes, including Munich–Dresden. His comments triggered an intense lobbying effort by Saxon ministers and the local business community, who argued that the flight is a critical link for the region’s semiconductor, defence-electronics and automotive clusters that rely on same-day connections to North-America and Asia via Lufthansa’s Munich hub.
While the flight itself solves a logistical challenge, companies should not overlook the travel-document side of the equation. VisaHQ, an online visa and passport facilitation platform, can streamline German and onward visa processing for employees who connect through Munich on long-haul itineraries. Its Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) offers real-time requirements, digital application tools and corporate dashboards, helping mobility teams align document lead times with the reinstated Dresden flight schedule.
![Lufthansa Keeps Key Munich–Dresden Shuttle Alive After Cost Review]()
Under the compromise, the airport operator will freeze its 2026 landing-fee increase and invest in faster turn-around infrastructure, while the state will expand its corporate-travel framework agreement to channel more government and public-sector traffic onto the route. Lufthansa, for its part, will maintain the current Embraer-E195 operation but reserve the right to down-gauge to CRJ-900 equipment during the winter shoulder season if load-factors drop below 65 percent.
For mobility managers the outcome removes the immediate need to re-route staff via Berlin or Frankfurt—options that add at least three hours to a return trip—and prevents an increase in rail-air connection costs. The case also sets a precedent for other German regions seeking public-private solutions to preserve thin, yet strategically important, domestic air links in the face of environmental taxes and rising labour expenses.
Travel-policy heads should brief Dresden-based assignees that the existing LH2124/2125 flight numbers and schedule remain unchanged for 2026, but warn that inventory may be tighter in January–March if smaller aircraft are deployed. Contract negotiations with Lufthansa can reference the state-backed volume commitments to secure seat blocks at corporate fares.
In October, Mitteldeutsche Flughafen CEO Götz Ahmelmann had warned that high airport charges and staff costs in Germany were threatening the commercial viability of several short-haul routes, including Munich–Dresden. His comments triggered an intense lobbying effort by Saxon ministers and the local business community, who argued that the flight is a critical link for the region’s semiconductor, defence-electronics and automotive clusters that rely on same-day connections to North-America and Asia via Lufthansa’s Munich hub.
While the flight itself solves a logistical challenge, companies should not overlook the travel-document side of the equation. VisaHQ, an online visa and passport facilitation platform, can streamline German and onward visa processing for employees who connect through Munich on long-haul itineraries. Its Germany portal (https://www.visahq.com/germany/) offers real-time requirements, digital application tools and corporate dashboards, helping mobility teams align document lead times with the reinstated Dresden flight schedule.
Under the compromise, the airport operator will freeze its 2026 landing-fee increase and invest in faster turn-around infrastructure, while the state will expand its corporate-travel framework agreement to channel more government and public-sector traffic onto the route. Lufthansa, for its part, will maintain the current Embraer-E195 operation but reserve the right to down-gauge to CRJ-900 equipment during the winter shoulder season if load-factors drop below 65 percent.
For mobility managers the outcome removes the immediate need to re-route staff via Berlin or Frankfurt—options that add at least three hours to a return trip—and prevents an increase in rail-air connection costs. The case also sets a precedent for other German regions seeking public-private solutions to preserve thin, yet strategically important, domestic air links in the face of environmental taxes and rising labour expenses.
Travel-policy heads should brief Dresden-based assignees that the existing LH2124/2125 flight numbers and schedule remain unchanged for 2026, but warn that inventory may be tighter in January–March if smaller aircraft are deployed. Contract negotiations with Lufthansa can reference the state-backed volume commitments to secure seat blocks at corporate fares.
