Since September 17, 2024, Lufthansa's freight subsidiary Lufthansa Cargo has been under massive pressure due to an IT error.
A planned update to the central IT system, known as iCAP, led to unexpected technical difficulties that temporarily halted import and export operations at the key hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. Trucks were backed up outside the terminals and there were significant delays in the flow of freight business. Although the disruption has now been resolved, the glitch will continue to affect operations for several days.
The origin of the problem: The iCAP update
iCAP is the heart of Lufthansa Cargo and the central IT system through which the company's entire booking and processing system runs. As a technological hub for global freight traffic, it is crucial for the smooth running of imports and exports. This made the update planned for September 16 and 17 all the more delicate. Jasmin Kaiser, CIO of Lufthansa Cargo, warned in advance of possible problems: "IT changes of this magnitude and to a core system such as iCAP are a challenge for all of us. There can certainly be some glitches in some places."
But the extent of the complications that arose during the update exceeded all fears. Despite months of preparation by Lufthansa Cargo and the IT service provider IBS, serious problems arose during implementation. The update was initially scheduled for June 2024, but was postponed several times until it was finally implemented in mid-September. The result: the system failed and brought cargo operations in Frankfurt and Munich to a standstill.
Massive impact on freight traffic
Lufthansa Cargo informed its customers about the disruption on Tuesday. Imports and exports in Frankfurt and Munich were temporarily suspended, which led to significant backlogs in freight shipments. Long queues of trucks formed in front of the terminals waiting to unload their cargo. The disruption not only affected ongoing operations, but also the trust of customers who rely on smooth processes.
In order to defuse the situation, Lufthansa Cargo decided to roll back the update and revert to the previous version of the iCAP system on Wednesday night. According to a spokeswoman for the company, operations were able to resume on Wednesday morning. "We expect to be able to return to normal operations during the course of the day," she told aero.de.
Long-term consequences of the IT breakdown
Despite the quick response, the disruption will continue to have an impact for days. The resulting backlog of freight shipments requires rapid processing in cooperation with the system partners. Lufthansa Cargo has informed its customers that delays and rebookings may continue until operations are fully stabilized.
Cargo flights and the so-called RFS transport system (air freight replacement service) are particularly affected. All flights and RFS transports that were due to arrive at the Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC) hubs by Wednesday, September 18, at 23:59 p.m. were either cancelled or did not transport regular cargo. This also applies to intra-European flights from Frankfurt, on which no cargo is to be loaded until Friday, September 20.
However, some exceptions have been made for particularly critical goods such as organ transports, animal transports and goods that require refrigeration. Even urgent shipments that are time-critical can still be transported under certain circumstances. Lufthansa Cargo has endeavoured to redirect as many rebookings as possible to alternative RFS services, but delays can also occur here.
An IT glitch with a signal effect
The recent IT breakdown at Lufthansa Cargo underlines the central importance of stable and functioning IT systems in the globalized world of logistics. Cargo companies like Lufthansa Cargo are under enormous pressure not only to ensure smooth transport processes, but also to implement continuous technological improvements in order to remain competitive. But digital transformation in particular shows how vulnerable these systems are to disruptions.
For Lufthansa Cargo, the IT glitch is a setback, as the cargo division has become an increasingly important mainstay for the Lufthansa Group, especially in recent years. Due to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing disruptions in global supply chains, air cargo has become an essential factor for the success of many companies. According to company reports, Lufthansa Cargo had a turnover of over 2023 billion euros in 3. These figures illustrate the central role of the cargo subsidiary within the Lufthansa Group and the importance of smooth operations.
It remains to be seen how quickly Lufthansa Cargo can reduce the delays that have occurred and what long-term impact the IT problem will have on the company. What is clear is that the incident requires a thorough analysis to ensure that similar problems are avoided in the future. At the same time, the breakdown will be seen as a warning to the entire logistics industry to exercise even greater caution when updating IT systems to central systems and to develop more comprehensive security plans.
In the coming days and weeks, Lufthansa Cargo customers will continue to be faced with the question of when operations will return to normal and how the incident will affect future cargo shipments. Lufthansa Cargo has set itself the goal of clearing the existing backlogs as quickly as possible and restoring normal operations. The coming days will show how well the company is coping with these challenges.
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