German court dismisses relatives' lawsuit against aviation authority over 2015 Germanwings

On 6 October, the Landgericht Braunschweig dismissed a lawsuit filed by 30 relatives of the Germanwings flight 4U9525 victims against the Luftfahrt‑Bundesamt (LBA).

The plaintiffs had sought compensation ranging from 500 to 110,000 euros and accused the LBA of insufficient monitoring of the co‑pilot’s flight‑worthiness; the court ruled the claims should be directed at Germanwings instead and cited the Montreal Convention governing international air‑transport liability. Relatives also said they wanted to know whether the crash could have been prevented and whether today’s air traffic is safer.