September 29, 2026, 8:09 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Delayed or canceled flights continue to frustrate travelers. Those seeking compensation often need patience: It often takes several months before airlines pay. Although the number of lawsuits in Germany has decreased for the first time in five years, the burden on the courts remains high.
Fewer Cases at German Airports
In the first half of this year, more than 53,000 lawsuits were filed at the district courts of the 20 largest German airport locations due to delayed or canceled flights. In the same period last year, there were nearly 66,000 cases. This was reported by the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger,” citing an analysis by the German Judges Association.
The majority of lawsuits were filed at the Cologne District Court with around 12,600 cases. Following that were Frankfurt/Main with about 8,300 cases and the Königs Wusterhausen District Court, responsible for Berlin Brandenburg Airport, with around 8,100 cases.
Judges Association Still Sees High Burden
Despite the decline, the German Judges Association sees no reason for all-clear. According to the association, the number of cases is still about twice as high as in 2021.
Sven Rebehn, managing director of the Judges Association, told the “Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger”: “If the trend from the first half of the year continues, the judiciary will have to handle more than 100,000 passenger lawsuits again by 2026.”
For affected passengers, this means continued long waiting times. According to the report, passengers have to wait an average of four to five months for compensation. In disputed cases, processing can even extend up to ten months. Many of these cases eventually end up in court.
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AI to Speed Up Proceedings
To relieve the courts, the Judges Association calls for increased use of artificial intelligence. Although AI applications are already used at some locations, the association believes there is still a lack of a comprehensive solution that significantly speeds up processing.
At the Frankfurt/Main District Court, “FraUKe,” the “Frankfurt Judgment Configurator Electronic,” was developed. The system supports judges in passenger rights cases by reading flight data from complaints and creating formulation suggestions for the facts and reasoning of judgments based on judicial guidelines. The decision is still made by the judge.
Systems in Use in Frankfurt and at BER
Since February 2025, a special AI application called “KAI” has also been in use at the Königs Wusterhausen District Court. It analyzes mass passenger rights cases and aims to make relevant information available more quickly.
As in Frankfurt/Main, the software neither replaces the legal review nor the decision by the responsible judge. It serves solely as support in handling the numerous cases.