Lufthansa axes hundreds of flights over staff shortages

German national carrier Lufthansa said Thursday it was cancelling hundreds of flights during the summer holidays because of staff shortages as the industry attempts to bounce back from the pandemic.

The company said in a statement it had seen a "jump in demand" as the coronavirus outbreak has eased, which "after the most severe crisis in aviation is good news".

However, it said that "infrastructure has not fully recovered", leading to "bottlenecks and staff shortages" in Europe, hitting airports, ground services, air traffic control and airlines. 

As a result Lufthansa said it had scrapped 900 German and European flights for July at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays -- around five percent of its normal weekend capacity.

Its carrier Eurowings axed "several hundred flights" for July. 

The company said passengers who had already booked flights would be informed and rescheduled.

It added that it was asking its customers to allow enough time at airports to deal with possible delays, use digital services as much as possible and reduce carry-on luggage. 

Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said last month the airline was projecting a record summer for tourist activity, with the latest data showing passenger numbers bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic. 

The number of passengers on Lufthansa flights had "more than quadrupled" in the first quarter to 13 million, from three million in 2021, Spohr said, when travel restrictions in many markets were more severe.