Pax Sentinel - Condor Returns to Full Private Ownership as German State Exits

The German government is relinquishing its entire remaining stake in leisure airline Condor, clearing the path for majority owner Attestor to assume total control, the carrier announced in Frankfurt on September 25, 2026. Under the transaction, British investment firm Attestor will acquire the remaining 49 percent equity interest currently held by SG Luftfahrtgesellschaft on behalf of the German federal government and the state of Hesse. The formal closing of the buyout is scheduled for August 31, 2027. Condor said Attestor is exercising a call option established when the investor first stepped in during 2021. The parties did not disclose financial terms or the agreed purchase price. Complete Buyout The transaction brings an end to public intervention that preserved Condor following the September 2019 collapse of its former British parent company, Thomas Cook Group. State authorities intervened a second time during the COVID-19 pandemic to avert insolvency as commercial passenger aviation ground to a halt. Attestor initially bought 51 percent of Condor in May 2021, providing fresh capital to keep the airline flying while public entities retained the remaining 49 percent through SG Luftfahrtgesellschaft. The contractual framework provided Attestor with an option to purchase the remaining shares at a later date. Condor satisfied the primary prerequisite for the ownership buyout earlier this year. The airline repaid its government-backed crisis loans ahead of schedule in the spring of 2026, satisfying its state creditors and opening the path for complete private ownership. Feeder Route Conflict The ownership transfer arrives during an intensifying commercial confrontation between Condor and the Lufthansa Group. In recent years, Lufthansa terminated a long-standing feeder flight agreement that historically funneled regional passengers from across Germany and Europe onto Condor's long-haul holiday flights departing from Frankfurt. Lufthansa canceled the partnership to prioritize its own direct leisure subsidiary, Discover Airlines. The rivalry previously extended into European courts, where Condor successfully filed legal challenges that confirmed [Lufthansa's €6 billion pandemic state aid package was illegal](/en/article/uEAp45WU_eu-court-confirms-6-billion-pandemic-aid-was-illegal). Deprived of Lufthansa's domestic and European feeder services, Condor was forced to establish its own city-to-city network. The carrier launched direct short-haul flights connecting major European cities to Frankfurt to feed its long-haul departures independently, placing the two airlines in direct network competition. To support that hub defense, Condor completed a modernization of its long-haul operations, replacing older Boeing 767 aircraft with Airbus A330neo wide-body jets. The airline is currently expanding its short- and medium-haul fleet with Airbus A320neo family aircraft to reinforce its European feeder routes.

Condor's Alpha Rotex headquarters, opened March 18, 2026, marks its return to Frankfurt Airport.