The first European airline, Lufthansa, will cancel tens of thousands of flights during the winter due to the spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, its CEO said Thursday.
“
We see a sharp drop in bookings from mid-January to February
”, which is why “
we have to cancel 33,000 flights, or around 10% of the winter flight schedule
,” said Carsten Spohr, CEO of Lufthansa, in an interview with the daily
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung
(FAS).
Read also Covid-19: the 5th wave affects the SNCF which must cancel regional trains
Earlier today, AFP learned that the German company had to cancel several intercontinental flights in the run-up to Christmas because too many pilots had fallen ill.
"
Transatlantic routes to North America to Boston, Houston and Washington are mainly affected from December 23 to 26 due to the increased rate of illness
" among pilots, a company spokesperson said, Lufthansa wanting to offer alternatives to the passengers concerned.
The airline SAS also announces the cancellation of ten flights
The link between cases of illnesses with the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is "
speculative
" because Lufthansa is not informed of the type of illness contracted by its pilots, the source added.
The online portal aero.de first reported the lack of available pilots from the German company, who usually fly on A330 and A340 planes used over long distances.
"
We have strong reserves
" of flight personnel, but "
they are no longer sufficient with an extremely high disease rate
", the Lufthansa spokesperson had specified, the case having "
already occurred in the past
".
Read also Covid-19: Lufthansa reimbursed all public aid from the German state
The Scandinavian airline SAS also announced on Wednesday the cancellation of a dozen international flights on Wednesday departing from Stockholm, after thirty the day before, citing the absence of employees affected by Covid-19 or health recommendations.
