Lufthansa cancels thousands of flights due to staff shortages crisis

The decision comes as the company has already cut back 5 per cent of summer flights 900 connections included, due to "bottlenecks and [a] shortage of personnel, [meaning] the entire European aviation sector suffers". Moreover, Eurowings, the low cost carrier owned and operated by Lufthansa, also announced "several hundred fewer flights" during the month of July.

The news was released as the airline experiences a recent surge in sick leave for "airports, ground services [and] aviation security”.

“Strikes among air traffic controllers, the weather and above all an increase in COVID-19 infections” are the other causes related to the decision.

Lufthansa will cancel 2,200 out of 80,000 flights to and from Frankfurt and Munich, also during weekdays. The decision is considered to be "inevitable" and will probably trigger an “overload of ground processes during peak hours", according to the group’s representatives.

Post-pandemic surge in customer demand and considerable labour shortages have led many airlines to face operation difficulties during this year. In the UK, for example, airport chaos continued for months, with thousand of flight delays and cancellations from big industry names such as Easyjet, Ryanair, British Airways, Tui or Wizz Air. In the attempt to avoid future crisis, London's Gatwick Airport has recently announced that the number of daily flights for the summer months will be restricted.

 

Source: euronews.com