In recent weeks and months, there have been increasing reports of entry denials at the US border. Germans travelling as tourists have also been affected, with some being detained on-site for several weeks. Some of these cases gained global media attention, including that of two young women on a world trip who were denied entry in Honolulu.
In the comments section of Travel-Dealz, many users have since expressed reluctance to travel to the US due to such cases. However, until now, there were no figures to clarify whether the media was merely reporting more on these incidents — or whether there had actually been an increase in denied entries.
Now, relevant data has been provided by the Lufthansa Group. Dieter Vranckx, CEO of Lufthansa, shared the figures on LinkedIn. According to him, Lufthansa flew 1.3 million passengers to the US between January and May 12, 2025. The number of entry denials actually decreased slightly compared to the previous year: from 0.017% to 0.016%.
In other words: On average, 16 out of every 100,000 passengers are denied entry to the US, slightly fewer than last year. These statistics only refer to cases where the denial occurs after landing. Passengers without valid travel documents or without an ESTA typically don’t make it past airport checks and thus don’t board the plane in the first place.
Conclusion
According to Lufthansa Group’s figures, there is no increased risk of being denied entry to the US. Only a very small percentage of travellers are affected, just like in previous years.
However, one aspect remains unaddressed. Until now, it was standard for passengers denied entry to return on the next flight to their point of origin. In Hawaii, the two world travellers spent a night in jail because they wanted to fly to Japan instead of New Zealand, but in other cases, travellers have been held in US custody for several weeks. Furthermore, the figures above only include flights from Europe.
It remains to be seen how the transatlantic travel market will develop in the coming months. Current numbers show a noticeable decline in bookings in both directions. Lufthansa had recently been more optimistic. However, this trend likely stems from many other factors beyond concerns over entry issues.
Translated by Ditmar
Comments (2)
Self selecting statistics.
People who are unsure if they will get denied don’t bother flying
People who are sure they won’t get denied choose to fly more
The telling statistic that is not revealed is to compare the amount of travellers for the same period in the last 5 years before and after Covid
It seems in this case the media NEEDED there to be an evil Trump Immigration Guys story rather than the reality of the situation. In the UK, they obsessed about a woman who was crossing into the US from Canada who was staying in people’s houses and ‘paying’ for it by cleaning their houses. She even told the immigration guys that’s what she was doing. CBP went, er, deportation for you for working illegally in the US. Totally deserved, yet the press here treated her like a martyr rather a dummy who got exactly what you’d expect for saying exactly what anyone with an IQ over 100 knows not to say.