Lufthansa Operates Unique Route from London to Salzburg

Lufthansa has launched a unique route that connects London Heathrow with Salzburg, Austria, marking a notable exception to its primarily Germany-based operations. This time-limited service, which began in the winter of 2023/2024, operates independently of Lufthansa’s traditional routes from its Frankfurt and Munich hubs.

The route covers a distance of 569 nautical miles (1,054 kilometers) each way and serves as Lufthansa’s longest connection from the UK’s busiest airport. Following the regulatory changes brought about by Brexit, the UK no longer enjoys open skies with the European Union. Nevertheless, UK-EU traffic rights remain liberal, allowing this route to operate.

Salzburg is a popular destination for UK travelers, attracting winter sports enthusiasts and tourists interested in its historical significance as the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the setting for the film “The Sound of Music.” According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, over 421,000 round-trip passengers traveled to Salzburg last year, with London accounting for approximately 337,000 of these.

Service Details and Flight Schedule

Lufthansa operates this route exclusively on Saturdays, with flights returning to London on December 13, 2025, according to data from Cirium. In total, there will be 14 departures scheduled for the winter season, a reduction from the 19 round-trips available at the route’s inception. The decline in service availability stems from a shorter operational window, with flights concluding on March 14, compared to later dates in previous years.

The airline primarily utilizes the 180-seat Airbus A320neo for this route, although the 215-seat A321neo will appear on February 14 and 21, coinciding with increased demand around Valentine’s Day. The aircraft and crew are stationed at Lufthansa’s Munich hub, with the first flight, LH2472, arriving at Heathrow at 10:25 AM local time. The return flight, LH2676, departs Salzburg at 14:50 and lands back in London at 15:50.

Lufthansa’s Position at Heathrow

Lufthansa is currently the sixth-largest airline operating at London Heathrow. Data from Cirium indicates that the airline manages an average of 15 daily departures, which can vary from 11 to 17. While most of these flights utilize the A320neo, the A321neo has only four scheduled departures.

In the competitive landscape of Heathrow’s air traffic, British Airways leads with an average of 327 daily departures, followed by Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, and United Airlines. Additionally, Lufthansa’s low-cost subsidiary, Eurowings, contributes to the overall traffic, operating non-hub services from various German cities to Heathrow. Eurowings is set to reintroduce flights from Berlin to Heathrow on March 29, marking the first connection between the German capital and the airport since 2019.

The strategic implementation of this route demonstrates Lufthansa’s adaptability in navigating post-Brexit air travel regulations while catering to the demand for travel to popular destinations like Salzburg.