On Saturday, March 4 2023, the 50th and final AHK Charter flight landed in the Eastern Chinese port metropolis of Qingdao. What started as a wild idea quickly developed into a major project that helped over 9,600 employees of German companies and their families travel from Germany to China.
Who was involved?
It took a massive organizational effort to set up the project, which required multiple stakeholders to work hand in hand:
- The German Chamber (AHK Greater China) - main project lead
- The German Embassy - political coordination
- Lufthansa - aircraft carrier
- International Carrier Consult - a specialized airline broker
- Multiple Chinese ministries, provinces, and cities – approvals, coordination of quarantine, logistics, etc.
- The destination of 43 of our flights was Qingdao, where a team of 90 dedicated staff worked tirelessly to support the Charter project.
This endeavor was made possible by the great support and pioneering spirit of our partners. We would like, once again, to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for their ongoing support. We also thank our passengers for embarking on this extraordinary journey with us.
Time to recap:
“It all started when China sealed its borders in early 2020 due to the pandemic outbreak. Connectivity between both countries came to a halt, and many employees of German companies and their family members were stuck in Germany and were unable to return to China. We needed to find a solution.” says Jens Hildebrandt, Executive Director & Board Member of the German Chamber of Commerce in China | North China.
A lot of legwork and alignment was required to sort out the visa situation, negotiate a landing permit and the quarantine conditions – but ultimately, all went well! “It seemed impossible at the time because absolutely no one was allowed to fly to China,” recalls Matthias Goebel, Lufthansa Group Chief Representative in China. “It wasn’t easy but in May 2020, we managed to send the first plane with 179 passengers and 18 crew members to Tianjin.”
13 more flights were operated in 2020, followed by 7 in 2021, 24 in 2022, and five this year. Most of the passengers were employees of German companies and their families. So, was it all Germans? No! We helped passengers from 74 countries return to China!
“Over the last three years, the AHK Charter project has been the lifeline of the German business community in China,” says Ole Grogro, Deputy Head of the Economic Section at the German Embassy in Beijing. “After 50 flights, the project accomplished what it set out to do – connecting China and Germany.”
The three years of Charter Flights were anything but boring
Applications for visas, PU letters, obtaining the Green Health Code, constant changes to testing requirements, and a quarantine period that ranged from 5 to 28 days, until the centralized quarantine was abolished on January 8, 2023. On the day of departure, a team of up to 24 people worked through the night, troubleshooting and sorting out problems.
“We have been advocating for the lifting of travel restrictions since the very first day they were imposed. Although the entire team is passionate about the Charter project, we are glad it is no longer necessary,” concludes Jens Hildebrandt.