The airline is (and is) suffering from staff shortages
Lufthansa will cancel more than 3,000 flights this summer due to staff shortages, strikes and the Covid-19, the airline giant announced today announcing a second wave of cancellations.
The new announcement concerns the cancellation of 2,200 flights or about 3% of its program.
The company had already recently cut 5% of its summer flights on Fridays and weekends, ie 900 connectionsciting “congestion and staff shortages suffered by the entire European aviation industry”.
Its low cost subsidiary, Eurowingshad also announced “several hundred fewer flights” in July.
These staff shortages concern “airports, ground services, aviation security and therefore companies“, States in an announcement sent to the French Agency.
Now, “air traffic controllers’ strikes, the weather and especially the increase in Covid-19 cases are causing a greater burden,” explains Lufthansa, which reports an increase in sick leave “in recent days.”
As a result, the group cancels 2,200 flights from 80,000 to and from the “nodes” Frankfurt and Munich, mainly flights within Europe. Cancellations are no longer limited to weekends but also to weekdays.
The measure, which is considered “inevitable”, is expected to ensure “more stability of the flight plan throughout the summer” by avoiding in advance “overloading procedures on the ground during peak hours”, he emphasizes.
Following the lifting of health restrictions in many countries, especially in the United Kingdom, earlier this year, carriers have struggled to cope with the sharp increase in demand, mainly due to severe staff shortages.
In the UK, airports have been severely disrupted for weeks, with long queues and cancellations by Easyjet, British Airways, Tui or Wizz Air.
London Gatwick Airport announced last week that it would reduce the number of daily flights in July and August to avoid further chaos. Easyjet also announced last Monday a reduction in its capacity this summer due to staff shortages at both airports and air traffic control and companies.
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