Lufthansa says it doesn’t expect air traffic to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022
The aviation industry crisis triggered by Covid-related restrictions is unlikely to end until next year, Germany’s Die Welt newspaper reported on Saturday, citing Lufthansa board member Detlef Kayser.
“Unfortunately, we will hardly be able to realistically achieve a short-term improvement now in the summer,” Kayser said. “We expect the situation to return to normal by 2023.”
He added that the problem is global, not unique to Germany, and that the only solution is to reduce the number of flights.
The German flagship air carrier plans to scrap around 3,000 flights, or nearly 15% of its capacity, at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich over the summer. That’s on top of 900 cancellations announced earlier this month.
Lufthansa’s low-cost subsidiary Eurowings is also expected to cancel flights.
According to Kayser, Lufthansa is trying to ensure vacation routes are affected as little as possible, opting instead to cancel short and medium-haul flights with many alternative travel options.
The lifting of pandemic restrictions has sent air travel demand in Europe soaring, leaving some carriers struggling to cope.
At the same time, labour shortages are now worsening amid a new Covid-19 outbreak.
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