1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
German coalition collapseDonald TrumpCOP29

Flying high

September 13, 2011

Three pilots for the German airline Lufthansa have successfully argued their employer's mandatory retirement age of 60 amounts to age discrimination. Existing age regulations are enough, the court has said.

https://p.dw.com/p/12Xpu
Lufthansa plane
Lufthansa requires pilots to retire at age 60Image: picture alliance / Eibner-Pressefoto

Airlines must allow pilots to continue flying after the age of 60, the European Union's highest court ruled Tuesday, throwing out a mandatory retirement age maintained by German carrier Lufthansa that was not equal to legal norms.

The European Court of Justice found that governments may impose safety restrictions on pilots above the age of 60, but that they cannot ban them from flying completely.

"Prohibiting airline pilots from working after the age of 60 constitutes discrimination on grounds of age," a court statement said. "While the right to act as a pilot may be limited from that age, total prohibition goes beyond that which is necessary to ensure air traffic safety."

Lufthansa has a mandatory retirement age of 60 for pilots, despite German and international standards fixing retirement at 65.

Three Lufthansa pilots, Reinhard Prigge, Michael Fromm and Volker Lambach, sued their employer in German courts for dismissing them after they turned 60, saying they were victims of age discrimination.

German and European law does restrict pilots aged between 60 and 64 to flying with a crew and another pilot who is younger than 60. The court said automatically grounding pilots at 60 represents a "disproportionate requirement" in light of these standards.

Author: Andrew Bowen (AFP, AP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler

Skip next section Explore more

Explore more

Lufthansa's biofuel jet

Lufthansa begins flights with biofuels

Lufthansa begins flights with biofuels

For half a year, Lufthansa will be testing a flight between Hamburg and Frankfurt. The plane will use a blend of biofuel and regular kerosene – but not in both engines. Green groups are criticizing the fuel source. (15.07.2011)
July 15, 2011
Two men in front of the European Union flag

Gay couples are entitled to equal pension benefits, EU court rules

Gay couples are entitled to equal pension benefits, EU court rules

Germany still treats same-sex partnerships and heterosexual marriages differently, but the EU's top court says married couples or those in registered partnerships must get the same pension benefits. (11.05.2011)
May 11, 2011
Justice statue and European flag

EU court bans gender as basis for insurance cost

EU court bans gender as basis for insurance cost

Insurance companies have enjoyed an exemption from EU anti-discrimination laws, charging different premiums for men and women. But the bloc's Court of Justice has now said this practice must end. (01.03.2011)
March 1, 2011