The Regional Court of Braunschweig has dismissed the lawsuit filed by 30 bereaved relatives of the 2015 Germanwings crash, denying their claim for additional compensation. This was announced by the court on Tuesday. The plaintiffs had pursued claims totaling up to €110,000 per person against the Federal Republic of Germany, arguing that the pilot’s fitness to fly had not been sufficiently monitored.
The court had already signaled limited prospects of success for the plaintiffs early in the proceedings, with the presiding judge stating that these types of claims should primarily be directed toward the airline itself. This trial took place in Lower Saxony, a reflection of the fact that the Federal Air Office is based in Braunschweig.
The tragedy occurred on March 24, 2015, when a Germanwings aircraft crashed in the French Alps while traveling from Barcelona to Düsseldorf. All 150 people on board-144 passengers and six crew members-lost their lives. Subsequent investigations revealed that the co-pilot deliberately steered the aircraft into a mountain.
