Lufthansa and Munich Airport Plan Billion-Dollar Expansion of Terminal 2

Lufthansa Plans More Long-Haul Flights from Munich

With the expansion, Lufthansa intends to significantly increase its long-haul services at the Munich hub going forward. The company plans to base at least ten new long-haul aircraft in Munich and, following the opening scheduled for 2035, to offer a whole range of additional overseas destinations from Munich. The aim is to expand the international significance of the location.

Last year, just under 43 million passengers were handled at Munich Airport according to the operators. With the expansion of Terminal 2, around ten million passengers would be added – a magnitude roughly equivalent to the passenger numbers of Stuttgart Airport in 2025. This would allow Munich Airport to at least partially close its gap behind Frankfurt Airport, which had around 20 million more passengers the previous year.

Competition with Frankfurt

Lammers pointed out that a third runway, whose construction had been rejected by the surrounding municipalities, would not be required for the planned expansion. The location could grow with the existing infrastructure. In the spring of the current year, an expansion of Terminal 1 had already gone into operation, creating capacity for up to six million additional passengers.

However, with the significantly larger Terminal 3 in Frankfurt, which offers space for up to 19 million passengers, the Frankfurt operators already have a clear lead in this area. Frankfurt Airport remains by far Germany's largest airport. The Munich expansion is intended to strengthen the location in the competition without the need to build a third runway.

Employment Effects and Market Assessments

The expansion must also be seen in the context of the development of European air traffic. According to current Eurocontrol figures, there were only around 11.1 million takeoffs and landings across Europe last year, whereas the authority had expected almost 13 million flights for 2024 back in 2018. According to the parties involved, considerations regarding a terminal expansion at Munich Airport had already existed before the coronavirus pandemic.

Following its commissioning, between 8,000 and 9,000 additional employees are to work at the new extension according to the airport CEO. The "T-Stiel" would thus be not only an infrastructural project, but also one of relevance to the labor market for the region. AUA (Austrian Airlines) is a subsidiary within the Lufthansa Group and is therefore also indirectly incorporated into the strategy of the Munich hub.

Analyst assessments of Lufthansa have recently been mixed. While Canadian firm RBC Capital Markets rated the stock "Sector Perform" on July 16, 2026, US investment bank Goldman Sachs had issued a "Sell" recommendation on July 14, 2026. An RBC assessment with the same rating also dates from July 13, 2026.