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Gradually on the retreat: Airbus A380
Photo: Filip Singer / EPA
Lufthansa is expected to reactivate the Airbus 380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world with space for 509 passengers, from next summer.
The reason for this is the sharp rise in demand for flights and the delayed delivery of ordered aircraft, the airline said.
She is currently checking how many A380s will take off again and which destinations they should fly to.
Lufthansa currently still has 14 Airbus A380s that are currently parked long-term in Spain and France, the group said.
Six of these aircraft have already been sold.
Eight Airbus A380s are theoretically available.
In September 2020, during the corona crisis, Lufthansa announced that the A380 would be retired.
In an interview with SPIEGEL at the beginning of April, Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr ruled out that the A380 would come back to Lufthansa.
Lufthansa board member Detlef Kayser said at the weekend that the airline did not expect flight operations to return to normal until next summer.
»Unfortunately, we will hardly be able to realistically achieve a short-term improvement now in the summer«.
Currently, it only helps to reduce the number of flights.
This is not a German problem alone, but applies to the whole world.
Lufthansa is canceling more than 3,000 flights in the summer due to staff shortages.
According to the airline, the main reason is the many corona diseases.
A lack of staff is currently causing problems for many airlines and airports.
The airlines are canceling connections, and there are long queues at many airports.
The federal government announced at the weekend that it would be easier for foreign workers to enter the country, who should help out at short notice, especially with baggage claim.
However, the A380 will not solve this problem either; the preparation time for commissioning is too long.
The type of aircraft is considered a major economic disappointment and has been ordered far less than Airbus had expected.
Reasons include high operating costs and special boarding requirements for such large aircraft.
mamk/AFP
