Lufthansa is the latest airline left apologising to its customers after many flights have been delayed or scrapped altogether in recent weeks.
A hike in passenger numbers has been causing havoc for several airlines operating globally with major staffing shortages being met amid the busiest season post-Covid.
In a moment of surprising and straight-to-the-point honesty, a spokesperson for Lufthansa confirmed there is simply no short-term fix for these issues.
While they’re working to hire more staff to meet the demands, the effects of this won’t be seen until well into the winter months.
As a result, it has been reported that it will be scrapping up to 3,000 flights this summer, affecting passengers across the globe travelling to and from Munich and Frankfurt airports.
In a statement, the company said: “The ramp-up of the complex air transport system from almost zero to now almost 90% is clearly not proceeding with the reliability, the robustness and the punctuality that we would like to offer you again.”
The letter acknowledged that the current issues are unlikely to be resolved in the coming months as employees and resources have not been replaced, so cutting flights is a necessity.
It wrote: “Too many employees and resources are still unavailable, not only at our infrastructure partners but in some of our own areas, too.”
The carrier moved to cancel around 1,000 flights earlier this month for this reason and will be cutting ties on a further 2,200 in the coming weeks - mainly from Munich and Frankfurt.
Like many other businesses during Covid, Lufthansa was forced to lay off a huge number of employees, which they must now continue to rehire and train.
This comes as Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, and Britain's second-largest airport, Gatwick, announced a limit on the number of passengers this summer to cope with delays and shortages in staff numbers.
Just 70,000 passengers will be allowed to pass through Schiphol per day over the summer months to ensure a smooth experience - which marks a decrease of 16% from the normal schedule.
Meanwhile, Gatwick will cap flights at 825 per day in July and 850 in August in order to avoid ongoing chaos.
This week, the chief executive of the DAA, said similar action could be taken at Dublin Airport if it is unable to deal with the ongoing surge in passenger numbers.
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