No new flights scheduled by Lufthansa

The German airline Lufthansa does not expect to perform any more scheduled flights due to the new corona virus. The company expects that up to April 19, approximately 5 percent of the originally planned flights will be operated. Around 700 of the aviation giant’s fleet remain grounded.

CEO Carsten Spohr was unable to predict developments for this year when the annual figures were published.

“The spread of the corona virus has brought the entire global economy and our company into a hitherto unknown state of emergency,” he said.

“No one can foresee the consequences at the moment. The longer this crisis lasts, the more likely the future of aviation cannot be guaranteed without government support.”

Lufthansa currently maintains a number of connections, also through a number of subsidiaries. These are mainly intended to bring back Germans who are still abroad. Cargo flights will also continue to be carried out.

Lufthansa closed 2019 with a profit of 1.2 billion euros. That was 44 percent less than a year earlier. The drop in profit is partly due to strong competition in the airline ticket market, which depressed the price. This was especially the case in the company’s home markets. In addition to Germany, Lufthansa with subsidiaries such as Swiss and Austrian Airlines is also active in Switzerland and Austria.

In addition, Lufthansa, like its peers, was faced with sharply increased fuel costs last year. On an annual basis, the tank receipt for the company fell by 600 million euros. Lufthansa’s total turnover, at 36.4 billion euros, was 2.5 percent higher than a year earlier. The company did earn less money by transporting passengers.

Lufthansa is not venturing this year’s forecast due to the current crisis. In any case, the company said it would not distribute a dividend. The Lufthansa board also lowered its own base salary by 20 percent, thereby achieving some cost savings.