For at least the last three years German national airline Lufthansa has been transporting munitions of war through Irish territory to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) air base.
The Ditch reported earlier this month that Lufthansa illegally transported munitions through Irish sovereign airspace to Israel from April to July 2024. It has now emerged that the airline was delivering F-35 combat jet components to the IDF since at least 2021 – while Lufthansa was part-owned by the German government.
F-35 parts are classed as munitions under US, British and EU law. Irish law prohibits their carriage over the state’s airspace without permission from the minister for transport.
Transport minister Eamon Ryan – referring to The Ditch’s reports on the illegal carriage of munitions throughIrish airspace – claimed in the Dáil today there was “ambiguity” around whether the airlines required permission for “some” of their cargo.
The Green Party leader however didn’t cite examples of munitions that wouldn’t need his authorisation to pass through the state’s sovereign territory.
After a lengthy investigation – which involved cross-referencing information from several sources – The Ditch has established that Lufthansa transported munitions of war over Irish sovereign airspace on five flights from November 2021 to September 2023.
The munitions were for delivery to Nevatim IDF air base in Israel.
All five flights originated at Dallas Fort Worth airport in the US and passed over Ireland before landing at Frankfurt airport in Germany, with the munitions subsequently transported to Tel Aviv on other flights.
The F-35 components carried on two of the flights were marked as dangerous goods because they contained flammable or toxic substances, according to Lufthansa’s internal records seen by The Ditch.
There have been calls to ban the export of F-35 parts to Israel because the combat jets are used to drop bombs on people in Gaza.
The German government took a 20 percent stake in Lufthansa during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic but sold its remaining shares in September 2022.
The Department of Transport has been contacted for comment.
