The US routes are an important source of income for Lufthansa.
But because of Corona, business is down - and the hoped-for recovery is a long time coming.
Frankfurt / Main - According to Lufthansa, Europeans will only be able to return to the USA around Christmas.
A relaxation of the entry restrictions due to the corona pandemic * can realistically only be expected in the late fourth quarter, said Lufthansa board member Harry Hohmeister on Thursday at the online industry congress of the magazine "fvw TravelTalk".
At first he was too optimistic, assuming that this could happen in July.
Group boss Carsten Spohr initially bet on September, but recently no longer trusted himself with a forecast.
According to his own account, Hohmeister cannot understand the logic according to which the USA * maintains entry bans.
After all, the vaccination rate in the USA and Germany is at a comparable level.
Lufthansa: Air freight keeps the group afloat
The fact that the US flights pay off for the group even when there is comparatively low demand is due not only to the traveling US citizens but also to the booming air freight business.
Lufthansa * packs its passenger jets almost “full of cargo,” said Hohmeister.
(dpa) * Merkur.de is part of IPPEN-MEDIA