Victor Stefanescu
The Lufthansa counter at Lambert
The world was different in October 2003, the last time a legacy airline took off from Lambert St. Louis International Airport heading for Europe. Back then, the St. Louis Rams still sported a winning record. Blockbuster hadn't yet reached its peak. Even the airport’s name was different. Now, it reads "St. Louis Lambert International Airport," putting the city’s name first.
Lufthansa Airlines flight 449 took off for Frankfurt, Germany, an hour late on Wednesday afternoon, marking the first time a commercial jetliner headed to continental Europe from Lambert in almost 20 years.
Outside on Wednesday, it was cloudy and muggy. But inside Terminal 2, metallic blue balloons with sparkly streamers decorated a ticketing hall most typically traversed by Southwest passengers. Travelers checking in for their spot on the 255-seat Airbus A330-300 ranged from local Bayer employees to families traveling home.
Noa Ben-Shahar, a Clayton High School student, says her family unintentionally booked the inaugural flight.
“We were actually really confused. We thought, ‘Wait, they canceled the international flights a few years ago—there hasn't been one for a while,'” she says. "I thought there was a mistake on the website when we were purchasing tickets.”
It makes sense that Ben-Shahar felt confused. During her entire lifetime, there had never been a flight quite like Luthfansa’s to take off from Lambert. Trans World Airlines (TWA) ended its St. Louis–to–Paris flight in September 2001, just months before the airline, headquartered in the city, ceased operations. By 2003, American Airlines—which absorbed TWA—slashed its Lambert daily departures from 417 to 207, Travel Weekly reported. That year, American ended its nonstop service from St. Louis to London's Gatwick Airport.
The changes had an immense effect on the airport. Between 2000 and 2004, Lambert's passenger activity fell from over 30.5 million enplanements and deplanements to about 13.4 million, according to data from the airport. In 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, that figure was even lower, at under 10.4 million.
Belma Cavcic, a St. Louis County resident, praised the return of nonstop travel to Europe as she watched her kids and husband snake through the TSA line. They are traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina to visit family, but Cavcic is staying in St. Louis for now and will make the trip herself in about a month.
As Cavcic waved to her family, one of her sons rushed back to her in tears to give a final goodbye hug. Then, he sprinted back to his spot in line before other passengers could wedge between him and his father. Cavcic says the direct flight is a big help, especially for families with kids.
“We usually have to take a connecting flight to Germany—like in Chicago or North Carolina,” she says. “But it's good to have straight to Germany, especially with family. We have one less connecting flight.”
Amanda Ruby, a Dogtown resident who was traveling for business, also praised the convenience of the new flight.
“It saves an amazing amount of time, just being able to go directly and not have to transfer somewhere,” she says. “[I’m] much more likely to get there without having a connection messed up or something like that.”
She is a corporate counsel for Bayer, a pharmaceutical and life sciences company that has a large presence in the St. Louis area and is headquartered a few hours outside of Frankfurt. Bayer was one of several companies that praised the international flight, alongside politicians.
Before the thrice-weekly flight even commenced, local leaders called it a victory for St. Louis’ business community.
“Many of our St. Louis businesses have an international reach, so a direct connection to Europe is a critical step to growing our region and making it easier to do business here,” St. Louis County Executive Sam Page said in a press release last December. “This is a great moment for our region, and I look forward to building off this exciting announcement to attract new business and industry.”
For Ruby, it's about more than just the flight’s convenience. She was born and raised in St. Louis, and she thinks the new route will be great for the city. “I really hope that it helps us become more of a transportation hub,” she says. “I hope it brings more tourists to the area and helps people see what St. Louis has to offer. And I think it's really nice for the residents here, too, to have the opportunity to go internationally more easily and frequently. I'm proud of our city for being the one chosen for this.”
