Lufthansa is planning to cut 34 000 flights from its 2023 summer schedule due to the persistent staff shortages it has been experiencing.
A spokesperson for the airline reportedly told German business newspaper, WirtshaftsWoche, that Lufthansa has adjusted its schedule from Munich and Frankfurt airports, with about 500 flights per day being removed.
According to Globe Echo, the number of cancelled flights represents about 10% of the carrier’s current schedule.
Like many other airlines, Lufthansa has faced staff shortages following mass lay-offs during the COVID pandemic. It saw a large number of flight cancellations during the summer season last year due to the shortages, and has made the decision to remove some flights from this year’s summer schedule to avoid the levels of disruption experienced last year.
Simple Flying reported that the total number of cancellations might still rise as the airline’s subsidiaries, such as SWISS and Eurowings, may still cancel some flights.
To resolve the issue, Lufthansa embarked on a recruitment drive in November to hire 20 000 new employees by the end of 2023.
