Lufthansa has cancelled hundreds of flights originally scheduled for July due to staff shortages, the company announced on Thursday.
Some 900 domestic and short-haul flights have been cancelled across the Lufthansa flagship and Eurowings budget brands.
The flights, which were due to take place on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, reportedly represent about five per cent of the airline’s typical weekend capacity.
The German carrier isn’t the only feeling the pinch. In April UK-based budget carrier easyJet was forced to cancel more than 200 flights after staff called in sick with Covid-19.
The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority has also raised concerns over last-minute flight cancellations and delays at airports.
In a statement, Lufthansa stressed that Europe’s entire aviation industry is “currently suffering from bottlenecks and staff shortages”, Bloomberg reported. “This applies to airports, ground handling services, air traffic control and also airlines,” the carrier said.
Lufthansa declined to comment on how the cancellations have affected business travel bookings.