Passengers on an evening Lufthansa flight out of Munich ended up stranded on the aircraft all night after an unlucky series of events. With the flight already heavily delayed and subsequently canceled just before midnight, no buses were available to take the passengers back to the airport.

The flight crew then informed passengers that Munich Airport had closed and that all bus drivers had already gone home. As a result, passengers had to bed in for the night on the Airbus A320neo, reportedly without sufficient food, drink or blankets, until the airport reopened again in the morning.

Lufthansa Passengers Stuck Overnight On A320neo

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As first reported by Danish news outlet Ekstra Bladet, the incident occurred on Thursday evening as Lufthansa flight LH2446 prepared to depart Munich Airport (MUC) en route to Copenhagen Airport (CPH). The flight was scheduled to depart at 9:30 PM local time, but would end up being significantly delayed. Passengers were eventually bused out to the aircraft, which was boarding from a remote stand, before waiting on the aircraft.

Lufthansa ultimately canceled the flight just before midnight due to Munich Airport’s strict operating curfew, leaving passengers in the lurch. The airline spent the next couple of hours attempting to find a bus to ferry passengers back to the terminal, but was unable to do so. According to passenger Søren Thieme, at around 2:00 AM, Lufthansa crew informed passengers that the airport had closed and there were no available bus drivers. Thieme told Ekstra Bladet,

“We hear from the staff that they can’t get hold of anyone inside the airport anymore. The airport is just closed, they tell us. Then we are told that all the bus drivers have gone home and that we are not allowed to leave the plane. So all the staff have gone home.”

Not The Best Night’s Sleep

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The Lufthansa flight was a fairly short service to Denmark’s Copenhagen with an approximate flight time of 90 minutes. This meant the aircraft was understandably not well-equipped for what essentially became a long-haul flight. There were reportedly only small quantities of food and drink items stocked onboard, and no pillows or blankets either, making it an uncomfortable night for most.

As per ch-aviation data, Lufthansa’s A320neos offer a typical ‘Euro-Biz’ configuration and can accommodate up to 180 passengers, although this reduces to 164 passengers if the front eight rows are used as business class. The seat pitch is between 29-30 inches, which means less legroom than most widebody, long-haul aircraft.

Passengers were eventually rescued by buses sometime in the early morning, disembarking the aircraft and returning to the terminal. Many were rebooked on the first available flight that morning, which was also delayed by an hour. It isn’t known exactly when passengers boarded the initial flight, but they likely spent six or seven hours onboard before they were allowed to leave.

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What Could Lufthansa Have Done?

Credit: Munich Airport

While an unfortunate situation like this could be forgiven at a more remote airport, it occurred at one of Lufthansa’s two mega-hubs, where the airline should have enough influence to arrange a solution. At one point, passengers asked the crew why they couldn’t just walk off the aircraft and go back to the terminal on foot.

However, staff told them that this was against the law, as there are strict rules on airport area access. This will also have played against Lufthansa’s efforts to find transportation for passengers, as only authorized vehicles are permitted to enter airport areas. Munich Airport’s 12:00 AM curfew effectively shut down the airport for the night, with ground teams not used to servicing aircraft past midnight.

Lufthansa put the flight’s delay and cancellation down to weather-related problems and cited a “lack of apron buses” until the early morning. The airline confirmed that 123 passengers were onboard, and they have been rebooked on the next available flights.