Almost certain likelihood of support from sole owner Germany. Critical role as the dominant air traffic provider for civilian and military flights in Germany. Stable legal framework for operations including provisions for recovering fee shortfalls, such as due to COVID-19. Weakening profitability and low margins. High pension obligations, mitigated by low financial debt. S&P Global Ratings' stable outlook on DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS) reflects that on Germany (unsolicited AAA/Stable/A-1+). We believe that DFS will retain its critical role for and integral link with Germany. We therefore expect the ratings on DFS to move in line with those on the sovereign. We might consider a negative rating action if we saw any indication of a weakening of DFS' critical role
