On a chaotic night at Munich Airport, more than 600 passengers found themselves stranded in aircraft due to severe delays, with firefighters just nearby who could have intervened. Thomas Hoff Andersson, the managing director of Aviation and Operations at Munich Airport, stated that the situation could have been ameliorated by alerting the firefighters, indicating a failure in emergency protocols. Hoff Andersson publicly apologized to passengers and crews affected by the incident, acknowledging that the response was not handled well.

The crisis highlights systemic issues in airport management's emergency response procedures. Andersson mentioned that there were multiple opportunities to manage the emergency effectively that night, but they were not utilized. He committed to improving communication and guidance on escalating emergencies to higher management in the future. Moreover, discussions between Munich Airport and Lufthansa are planned to enhance collaboration in handling similar situations.

Lufthansa's board member, Heiko Reitz, also expressed regret over the incident, acknowledging the mistakes made that contributed to the poor handling of the situation. Reitz emphasized that such incidents should not occur again, indicating a strong intent to review and reform operational approaches to prevent future occurrences of this nature. The event has raised concerns about passenger safety and the adequacy of emergency protocols at major airports in Germany.