Leipzig Loses Top Spot in Airport Ranking

Leipzig/Halle Airport has lost its top spot in an airport assessment conducted by the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), but it remains one of the safest airports in Germany. Leipzig/Halle slipped to second place in the ranking, behind Munich. The union stated that the decisive factor for the Bavarian airport’s top ranking is the now-permanent operation of lighting systems on the access roads to the runways.

Stop bars in the ground that are illuminated around the clock are, in the pilots’ view, an important means of preventing collisions between aircraft and other vehicles. The stop bars serve as the “last safety barrier before an active runway.” Leipzig/Halle has permanently installed stop bars on several taxiways; however, from the VC’s perspective, there is still potential for widespread implementation.

There is still room for improvement

“Unfortunately, many airports continue to forego round-the-clock operation for cost reasons,” says Sven Graßmück, head of the VC working group on airport safety. The airports in Zurich and Geneva demonstrate that there is another way—there, stop bars are already in use around the clock on all taxiways.

A cautionary example of serious accidents is the catastrophic collision between two aircraft at the beginning of 2024 in Tokyo-Haneda. At the time of the accident, the stop bars there were defective. Five people died aboard a Coast Guard aircraft, while the crew and passengers of a Japan Airlines Airbus jet were able to escape the inferno alive.

All Airports Safe Enough

In principle, according to the VC’s assessment, all German airports are safe enough for passenger flight operations. Compliance with and enforcement of international regulations is the responsibility of the regulatory authorities. However, in the pursuit of maximum safety, there is almost always room for improvement, says the association.

At the bottom of the safety rankings, Rostock-Laage replaced Lübeck Airport. Pilots were dissatisfied that they were not invited to safety briefings in Rostock. Lübeck had accommodated this request.

The Cockpit Association’s working group has been conducting an annual safety review of German commercial airports since 1978. Regional airports were later included as well. Colleagues from Switzerland have also been participating since 2024.