Flight chaos: Lufthansa boss apologizes
Queues, delays and cancellations are currently testing the patience of air travelers.
Lufthansa boss Spohr apologized – but also made it clear: A rapid improvement is not to be expected.
Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr has prepared the passengers for further difficulties in air traffic. After the increase in air traffic after the corona pandemic from almost zero to almost 90 percent, the industry could not deliver the usual reliability, robustness and punctuality, Spohr wrote in an open letter from the group board to customers:
“We can only apologize to you for this and want to be completely honest: In the coming weeks, with further increases in passenger numbers, whether vacation or business trips, the situation will hardly improve in the short term.”
The industry is planning several thousand new hires in Europe alone. “However, this increase in capacity will only have a stabilizing effect in the coming winter.” The manager admitted that the Lufthansa Group also lacked staff in some areas. From next summer, the group intends to use the A380 aircraft, which have since been decommissioned.
“Exaggerated in one place or another”
In another letter to the workforce, Spohr admitted that Lufthansa had also made mistakes in rescuing the company in the past two years. “Did we overdo it with the savings in one place or another under the pressure of the more than ten billion euros in losses caused by the pandemic? Certainly that too.” Spohr also emphasized the exceptional situation: “To be honest: It was also the first pandemic to be managed for our management team and for me personally.”
The already existing staff shortages at airlines and airports are currently being exacerbated by the high number of new corona infections. Airlines are canceling flights across Europe to relieve the overwhelmed system. In addition to the 900 cancellations in July, Lufthansa alone is taking a further 2,200 connections in the summer at the Frankfurt and Munich hubs from the flight plan. This should primarily affect domestic German and European flights, but not the classic holiday destinations, which are well occupied during the holiday season.
Traffic light politicians criticize the aviation industry
Meanwhile, politicians in the traffic light coalition have criticized employers in the industry. “It obviously didn’t go well for the companies responsible,” said Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing on TV station Welt. He asked himself why the companies hadn’t tackled the looming personnel problem early enough.
Securing skilled workers is “not a topic that is new now, but everyone actually knows that this is one of the most important tasks,” said the FDP politician. There is currently a “really unsatisfactory” situation. “The fact that air traffic isn’t working right now – well, that annoys me too.”
SPD parliamentary group manager Katja Mast called on the companies to get the matter under control. She encouraged affected passengers to exercise their rights. It was “completely understandable” that people were looking forward to their summer vacation – “all the more annoying when the vacation they deserve ends in frustration,” she said.
Ver.di calls on Eurowings to a crisis summit
The trade union ver.di called on the Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings to hold a short-term crisis summit. “The strongly returning desire to travel in combination with strong staff cuts lead to an enormous physical and mental strain on the employees,” the union complained.
On Wednesday, the situation will also be the subject of a discussion between airport operators, the federal police and other authorities and service providers. A spokeswoman for the airport association ADV rejected a report by the “Bild” newspaper, according to which it was a “crisis call”. Rather, it is a normal and regular exchange between those involved, she said.
