In a sign that the upcoming summer season could be a chaotic one for holidaymakers, the biggest airline group in Germany has announced it is cancelling hundreds of flights in July, citing staff shortages. 

Lufthansa cancels 5 percent of weekend flights in July

Due to a shortage of workers in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, Lufthansa is cancelling around 900 flights within Germany and Europe in July - around 5 percent of flights on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays - primarily from the airline’s hub airports in Frankfurt and Munich. 

The Lufthansa subsidiaries Eurowings and SWISS have also announced cancellations to help them better deal with staff shortages. Eurowings has said this affects several hundred flights in July, while SWISS will be cancelling more flights and reducing the number of connections between Germany and Zurich. 

Lufthansa emphasised that passengers would be informed of any cancellations and, if possible, booked onto other Lufthansa or Eurowings flights. Domestic travellers can also choose to travel by long-distance train if another flight is not available. 

Chaotic scenes in airports across Europe this summer

Lufthansa’s lack of staff across all sectors, from passenger control and aircraft handling to security staff and flight attendants, is a problem affecting the entire aviation industry, especially in Europe. 

When the coronavirus pandemic severely limited international travel, airport workers left their jobs to seek positions elsewhere, meaning that now travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels there aren’t enough workers to fill all the vacancies. Staff shortages have led to chaotic scenes in airports across the continent over the last few weeks, with the situation especially severe in places like Amsterdam and Manchester. 

Passengers travelling this summer have been urged to get to the airport in good time (but not too early, to reduce unnecessary crowding) and to use online check-in services before arriving wherever possible. Hand luggage should be reduced to essentials only to avoid long waiting times at security.