CI VIEW: Lufthansa looks to serve BWI Airport from 2022 – Capitol Intelligence Group

WASHINGTON/BALTIMORE (BBN)– Germany’s Lufthansa Group is looking to serve Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport starting in 2022, said Peter Koeser, Lufthansa head of ground operations for the United States.

[Maryland Governor Larry Hogan filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on Maryland’s public private partnerships, I-495/I-270 toll road privatization and President Joe Biden’s proposed $ 1.2t trillion infrastructure plan]

Speaking to Capitol Intelligence, Koeser said Lufthansa is looking at operating at BWI to better serve the greater Washington, DC area as it can no longer grow at its main DMV hub, International Airport Dulles (IAD).

“There are legacy growth restraints at Dulles,” Koeser said, adding that Lufthansa could choose to serve BWI through one its subsidiaries such as Zurich, Switzerland-based Swiss.

Pre-Covid, BWI served international airlines such as Icelandair and a single LHR-BWI route by British Airways, but the lack of international connections has hampered BWI from becoming a truly international transportation hub.

“Lufthansa serving BWI would be truly transformative and would bring billions to the Baltimore area,” said USAF Col. (ret.) Doug Williams, the dean of the Aviation Management studies at the Community College of Baltimore County in nearby Catonsville.

While Lufthansa studies serving BWI, Air Senegal is already flying to BWI and connecting the DMV to West Africa and the world’s most lucrative air passenger market, Africa.

Lufthansa interest in serving BWI is undoubtedly music to the ears of Maryland governor Larry Hogan who is working to grab a lion share of President Joe Biden’s proposed $1 trillion infrastructure fund earmarked for major projects involving roads, rail, and airports.

BWI, one of the fastest growing airports in the United States is also one of the best connected thanks to its direct connection to the Amtrak Acela line connecting Washington, DC with New York City and Boston.

By PK Semler in Washington, DC and Baltimore, Maryland. For more information, please email pks@capitolintelgroup.com