Lufthansa has warned that it could cancel up to 25 per cent of its short-haul flights. The exact number of flights that the airline will cancel isn’t yet known and will depend on how the coronavirus situation develops.
The coronavirus epidemic is slowly gaining traction within Europe. As airlines continue to deal with a fall in demand and try to contain the situation, Lufthansa has now announced it too will take action.
A report quoted the company’s statement saying, “Within the coming weeks, the number of short- and medium-haul flights will be reduced by up to 25 percent, depending on the further development of the spread of the coronavirus.”
It appears that the airline group is yet to determine exactly which flights would be canceled. However, the news follows similar announcements from other airlines across Europe and further afield.
The Lufthansa Group attributed today’s announcement to tackling the economic fall-out caused by the Coronavirus outbreak. The airline group stated, “As a result of the current situation caused by the accelerated spread of the coronavirus, the Lufthansa Group has decided on taking further measures to counteract the economic consequences.”
Earlier the group had announced that 13 aircraft were effectively grounded as a result of flight suspensions to China. While no aircraft were actually grounded, the capacity of 13 aircraft was not being used. The group said that this will likely increase to 23, and as a result, they may look at reducing working hours.
Meanwhile other airlines like British Airways and Ireland’s Ryanair announced major flight cancellations particularly to Italy.
BA, which is owned by International Airlines Group, said it would cancel some 216 flights to various countries as a result of weaker demand sapped by the spread of Covid-19 disease.
“To match reduced demand due to the continuing coronavirus issue, we are merging a number of flights between March 16 and March 28,” BA said in a statement.
“We will be contacting customers on cancelled flights so we can discuss their travel options, including rebooking onto other carriers where possible, full refunds or booking with BA for a later date of travel.”
The cancelled flights include 12 from London Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport, plus 204 short-haul round-trips, including to Albania, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Italy, France, Germany and Switzerland.
In a further development, Brazilian carrier Latam suspended flights between San Paolo and Milan from March 2 to April 16.
Separately, Irish no-frills airline Ryanair announced it would cut up to a quarter of its short-haul flights, particularly to Italy.
More than 90,000 people have now been infected around the world, mostly in China but with significant outbreaks also in South Korea, Italy and Iran.
Brian Yutko, CEO of Boeing-owned Wisk Aero autonomous eVTOL vehicle, expects the aircraft to begin carrying passengers "later in the…
Lockheed Martin and the Slovak Republic have announced the arrival of the first F-16 Block 70 jets in Slovakia, signalling…
HADID International Services and the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) have announced a new strategic partnership through the signing of…
Advanced Air Mobility company Supernal's full-scale electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle product concept, S-A2, is on display at…
Boeing and Antonov Company have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore collaborative opportunities in defence-related projects. “We’re pleased to…
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has appointed Dror Bar as the new Vice President and CEO of its subsidiary ELTA, following…
The Israeli Ministry of Defense's Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) recently hosted a Demo Day to highlight the…
Drukair - Royal Bhutan Airlines, the national carrier of Bhutan, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus to…
Boeing and National Airlines have announced the carrier's commitment to its first order of four 777 Freighters. As the longest-range…
Boeing and Lufthansa Technik have announced an agreement designating Lufthansa Technik as the first Boeing-Licensed Service Center (BLSC) for cabin…
Boeing and Japan Airlines (JAL) have announced a new agreement for up to 20 additional 787 Dreamliners. This deal includes…
The first day of the year's biggest airshow started on a bright note for Embraer with The Netherlands and Austria…
Boeing and Luxair have announced that the European regional carrier is further expanding its fleet with a new order for…
Boeing and Korean Air have announced the airline's intention to acquire up to 50 of Boeing's fuel-efficient widebody planes, including…
ECS Group has reinforced its dedication to employee development with the Discovery internal training platform. This initiative is designed to…
Airbus and the Airports Council International (ACI) World have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at supporting the aviation industry's efforts…
ITP Aero has become the first aeroengine design and manufacturing company to receive Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from the European…
Switzerland-based JEKTA has announced its selection of ZeroAvia’s fuel cell power generation system (PGS) to demonstrate a fuel cell variant…
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) has awarded Boeing a USD 16.8 million contract to enhance the software and data systems…
Advanced air mobility (AAM) company Lilium, which is riding the momentum generated by the Saudia Group signing a binding sales…
Eve Air Mobility (Eve) has selected Diehl Aviation as the interior designer and producer, while ASE will supply the power…
With over 50 years of experience in developing specialty military-grade air cushion vehicles, Textron Systems is an industry leader in…
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, and Batik Air Malaysia have expanded their collaboration by launching a codeshare…
The All Nippon Airways Group (ANA Group) has announced the expansion of its De Havilland fleet with the acquisition of…
Korean Air has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, with its inaugural flight set to depart from Seoul…
Just weeks after successfully flying a first-of-its-kind hydrogen-electric air taxi demonstrator 523 miles, Joby Aviation is at the year's biggest…
At the show, Altair is highlighting innovations in engineering simulation, artificial intelligence (AI), and high-performance computing (HPC) that are transforming…
New Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stephanie Pope has spent her first four months in the role doing a lot of…
On the eve of the 45th Farnborough Airshow, urban air mobility (UAM) company Eve Air Mobility unveiled the aircraft being…
With Boeing choosing not to bring any of its signature jets to the Show, Airbus has the battle for the…
Headquartered in Singapore with reporters spread across all major regions, GBP Aerospace & Defence is a leading media house that publishes three publications that serve the aerospace and defence sector - Asian Defence Technology, Asian Airlines & Aerospace and Daily News. Known industry-wide for quality journalism, GBP Aerospace & Defence is present at more international tradeshows and exhibitions than any other competing publication in the region.
For over three decades, our award-winning team of reporters has been producing top-notch content to help readers stay abreast of the latest developements in the field of commercial aviation, MRO, defence, and Space.
Copyright 2024. GBP. All Rights Reserved.
Home Defence & Security Space Commercial Aviation Maintence Repair & Overhaul Daily News Events About Us
2024 GBP all rights reserved.