Lufthansa replies rudely to man over payment delay, kicks off tweet war. And then...

Lufthansa apologised after a sharp reply to a man demanding an approved payment went viral on X. The tweet thread left X users asking about something totally different.Lufthansa replied rudely to a man and started a tweet war. (Photo: Pixabay/code83)A man wanted the German airline Lufthansa to process a payment. Nearly two weeks into the saga, the company gave him a response so cut-throat that it promptly turned a customer complaint into a full-blown tweet war. It all started when the man had first raised the issue on September 11, accusing the airline of ignoring his messages and emails. He claimed Lufthansa had approved the payment months ago but was still refusing to process it.“Why are you ignoring my messages and emails @lufthansa ? You approved our payment months ago, yet you dodge responsibility and act unlawfully! Shame on you! Answer your emails and process Case C-999983-G1X8 IMMEDIATELY!,” he followed up on September 22.See the post: What exactly the payment was for remained unclear. The man, however, was not at all ready to let the matter die quietly in an inbox.Then came Lufthansa’s reply. And it came with a little more bite than the usual customer-service template. “We’ve already responded to you numerous times via DM on different social media platforms. The response isn’t going to magically change just because you’re asking the same question on X now,” it read.Signed by an employee named Flo, the response added a considerable amount of fuel to the fire. And, it gave the man something to work with.“I don't need a magic response, Flo — I need Lufthansa to pay the money you APPROVED. Your DM responses haven't changed because you refuse to resolve. Stop arguing on social media and tell Customer Relations to process our payout!” he wrote.At this point, the payment dispute had acquired a whole new audience. The exchange began racking up views, eventually crossing more than a million, with the man’s latest post on September 22 drawing even more attention.Lufthansa then appeared to realise that the sassy tone might not have been the best ingredient for this particular customer-service recipe and came back with an apology.“We sincerely apologise for our last reply to you – this is not the way we treat our passengers. We understand your frustration with this matter and are doing everything we can to speed up the process. We will get back to you as soon as possible,” they wrote.The man accepted the apology. But, crucially, he still wanted the money.“Thank you for your apology. I appreciate it. Now I kindly ask you to take the next step and have Customer Relations finalise my approved payment. Nearly 10 million people have seen this post. Did not a single staff member have 2 minutes to reply to my emails over all this time?”And that, mercifully, was the end of the tweet war.Except, X users were nowhere near done.While some appeared amused by the increasingly dramatic exchange, others were less interested in the payment dispute and more concerned about Flo, the employee whose blunt reply had become the unexpected star of the saga.Several users also shared their own experiences, claiming they had faced delays with Lufthansa payouts.So while the man was still waiting for the payment that started it all, the internet had acquired a new mystery: what exactly happened to Flo after the “magic response”?We do hope Flo is okay.- EndsPublished By: Srimoyee ChowdhuryPublished On: Sep 24, 2026 08:44 IST