20. 07. 10. - 12:00

Lufthansa boss wants top 5 airport safety union

Lufthansa chief executive Wolfgang Mayrhuber has suggested the world’s most important countries in aviation should team up over standardised security procedures to make travelling more convenient.

The Upper Austrian businessman told weekly magazine profil: "It would be ideal if the five biggest countries (in aviation) meet and agree on security and safety regulations."

Mayrhuber claimed automatic customer identification systems and a system informing airports about all relevant information about frequent fliers would slash waiting time and reduce complications and nuisances.

Mayrhuber has headed Europe’s biggest airline since 2003. His contract expires in December of this year.

Lufthansa suffered losses for the first time since 2003 last year with a reported minus of 112 million Euros.

The firm controversially took over struggling Vienna-based company Austrian Airlines (AUA) in September 2009. While some analysts said the takeover was AUA’s final straw to avoid bankruptcy, competitors like FlyNiki were fuming over the Austrian government’s decision to bolster AUA with 500 million Euros shortly before the merger was agreed upon.