Due to workforce shortages across the aviation industry, Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) and Eurowings have become the latest carriers to cancel flights during peak holiday periods.
In a statement, Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) said that it will cancel 900 domestic and short-haul flights from its Frankfurt and Munich schedules in July. The cancellations will affect flights on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The cancellations equate to 5% of the airline’s planned capacity on weekends, according to the company.
Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) also said that its Eurowings budget unit will cancel hundreds of flights in July.
While it was encouraging that demand was quickly returning following the COVID-19 outbreak, the German group noted that aviation infrastructure had not yet been fully rebuilt.
“The entire aviation industry, especially in Europe, is suffering from bottlenecks and staff shortages. This is affecting airports, ground services, air traffic control, and airlines,” Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) commented.
The airline said it and Eurowings had put in measures to try and secure operations. “However, it is likely that because of the shortages, flight schedules cannot be operated as planned.”
As a result, Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) is canceling flights ahead of time to give customers greater notice. “Lufthansa (LHAB) (LHA) and Eurowings did not take this choice lightly, and we regret the cancellations as well as the inconvenience to customers.”
In recent weeks, airlines throughout the United Kingdom have been canceling flights to avoid last-minute cancellations when passengers are already at the airport. Due to manpower shortages at Amsterdam Schiphol, KLM has also been forced to cancel flights (AMS).
Along with airline employee sickness, issues have arisen due to a shortage of ground handling and security personnel, resulting in long lineups for security checks and bag reclaims.
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