Airline Lufthansa has cancelled 2,200 flights for the next two months. The move follows a wave of corona infections in Germany, which has further increased the staff shortage at the largest German airline.
The chaos with which European holidaymakers are dealing with these seems to be getting even bigger.
Lufthansa is cancelling both domestic and European flights for July and August, a spokesman said. Earlier this month, the airline already announced that it would cancel 900 flights in July due to staff shortages.
It is not only Lufthansa that is struggling with personnel shortages. The entire aviation industry including airports, ground handling services and air traffic control is affected. In the aviation sector, jobs were massively cut during the corona crisis and now the sector is struggling to recruit new people. European airlines are seeing strong catch-up demand for tickets now that travel restrictions have been lifted after two years of corona measures.
Germany and many other European countries are also facing a new outbreak of the coronavirus. Although this wave seems less deadly than previous waves, absenteeism due to illness is increasing and the workload is increasing among the rest of the staff. As a result, employee dissatisfaction continues to rise.
The cabin crew of the Irish budget airline Ryanair has already stopped working in several European countries because they are demanding a pay rise to keep up with high inflation. British Airways workers also voted for strikes during the busy summer season.