Flight attendants demand an end to the deportation practice on scheduled flights Advertising The Independent Flight Attendants Organisation (UFO), one of the leading cabin crew unions in Germany, has addressed a far-reaching demand to politicians and airlines: deportations of persons required to leave the country should no longer be carried out on board civilian scheduled flights, but exclusively using state resources and by specialized personnel. With this clear position, the union is responding to the considerable stresses that flight attendants say they are exposed to during such assignments. The position paper published today primarily addresses safety-related, psychological, and ethical aspects of the current procedures. The debate thus touches on the tension between the state's duty to enforce the obligation to leave the country and the working conditions in civil aviation. High number of repatriations via civil airlines UFO's demand comes against the backdrop of a continuing high number of deportations in Germany. According to federal government figures, more than 10.000 deportations were carried out by plane in the first half of 2025 alone. The vast majority of these deportations are not carried out on specially chartered flights, but on regular scheduled flights. This means that those required to leave the country, accompanied by law enforcement officers, sit next to regular passengers. The cabin crew union sharply criticizes this practice. Joachim Vázquez Bürger, chairman of the UFO board, emphasizes that flight attendants are not law enforcement officers. Their core task is to ensure the safety and well-being of all passengers, not to assist or monitor state enforcement measures. The union argues that outsourcing this sensitive government task to civil aviation companies places an unreasonable burden on the staff. The responsibility for organizing and carrying out deportations undisputedly lies with the state, which must deploy its own trained personnel and its own means of transport. Psychological and ethical stress on cabin crew UFO cites numerous reports from members who suffered psychological distress after participating in deportation flights. Confronting people in an extremely exceptional situation, who may resist or react emotionally, is a significant challenge for civilian employees without police training. Even if the actual enforcement is carried out by officers, flight attendants are inevitably involved in the process and are often the first point of contact in crises. In such situations, the flight attendants are not only emotionally challenged, but also find themselves in a ethical conflictThe union invokes the fundamental values of the free and democratic order and the protection of human dignity as enshrined in Article 1 of the Basic Law. Flight attendants do not wish to participate against their conscience in the implementation of measures that affect profound human destinies. From a labor law perspective, UFO is therefore demanding immediate company agreements with the airlines. These should ensure that crew members do not suffer any disadvantages if they refuse to board a flight with deportees for reasons of conscience. The creation of clear internal company regulations should prevent conflicts of conscience and protect affected employees. Safety concerns and the relationship with civil aviation In addition to the psychological stress on the staff, safety-related aspects current practice. Resistance to deportation can quickly lead to an uncontrollable situation on board a scheduled flight, endangering the safety of all other passengers. While flight attendants are trained for emergency situations, they are not trained for de-escalation or the implementation of coercive measures. While the Federal Government regularly emphasizes in its responses to parliamentary inquiries that deportations on scheduled flights are carried out under strict security conditions and by specially trained escorts from the Federal Police or the states, critics argue that the civilian setting of a scheduled flight is inherently unsuitable for handling potentially escalating situations within the sovereign enforcement area. The question of costs and the demand for transparency The use of civilian scheduled flights for deportations is primarily based on economic reasons. Booking individual tickets on commercial flights is in most cases significantly cost-effective, than renting charter aircraft exclusively for this purpose. Special charter flights, often organized in cooperation with the federal states or by the EU agency Frontex, are primarily used for collective deportations to distant destination countries or for individuals with a high potential for violence. Nevertheless, even booking scheduled flights incurs considerable costs for taxpayers, as the flights often have to be booked at short notice and with the necessary escort personnel. In this context, UFO is demanding greater accountability from the airlines. The union criticizes the lack of transparency about the companies' involvement in government repatriation measures. UFO demands that airlines that participate in deportations and are paid for doing so with government funds be legally obligated to publicly report on their involvement. UFO Chairman Vázquez Bürger stated that it is unacceptable for companies to make money through tax-funded tickets without seeking public debate and being accountable. The discussion about the role of civilian airlines in deportations is thus a complex balancing act between state efficiency, the working conditions and psychological well-being of cabin crew, and ethical and safety considerations. UFO's call for a purely state-organized return process is likely to trigger an intense political debate about the future design of deportation enforcement. Advertising Source: https://aviation.direct/en/Flight-attendants-demand-an-end-to-the-deportation-practice-on-scheduled-flights