Lufthansa boss expects no improvement in flight chaos until winter

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has put passengers in the mood for further difficulties in air traffic. The situation, which is characterized by staff shortages, parts shortages and restricted airspace, will "hardly improve in the short term," the head of Europe's largest airline group said in a letter to passengers. It is true that the industry is planning to hire several thousand new employees in Europe alone. "However, this capacity expansion will only be able to have a stabilizing effect in the coming winter."

Spohr apologized on behalf of the company that after the Corona collapse, the "ramp-up of the complex air traffic system from almost zero to currently almost 90 percent again" had not led to the desired reliability, punctuality and robustness.

The manager acknowledged that the Lufthansa Group was also short of staff in some areas. As of next summer, the Group plans to once again operate the large A380 aircraft, which have been shut down in the meantime.

In another letter to the workforce, Spohr explained that the Executive Board had overdone it "in one place or another" with savings. The Lufthansa CEO cited the pressure of the more than 10 billion euros in losses in the Corona crisis for this. He pointed to the uniqueness of the situation: "Quite frankly, it was also the first pandemic for our management team and me personally to deal with."

Photo by Nick Herasimenka