Lufthansa: Virus endangers ‘future of aviation’ without aid

THE chief executive of German airline giant Lufthansa warned Thursday that governments might need to save the industry from the coronavirus crisis, as “drastic cutbacks in flight operations” have grounded over 90 per cent of its planes.

Some 700 of Lufthansa’s 763 aircraft are “temporarily parked” following massive reductions in its flight operations over the coming weeks “due to entry restrictions in many countries and a collapse in demand,” the group said.

“The longer this crisis lasts, the more likely it is that the future of aviation cannot be guaranteed without state aid,” chief executive Carsten Spohr said in a statement.

A “relief flight schedule” set to run until April 19 will see Lufthansa and its subsidiaries operate “a total of about five per cent of the originally planned programme,” with Austrian Airlines suspending almost all flights until March 28 and Brussels Airlines between March 21 and April 19.

Meanwhile the group’s flagship airline will operate remaining long-haul flights from Frankfurt only, wiping out departures from second German hub Munich.

Lufthansa planes will also carry out “around 140 special relief flights” for over 20,000 passengers, as governments in its carriers’ home countries repatriate citizens stranded abroad after travel restrictions slammed down.

And its cargo division’s aircraft will remain airborne, continuing its regular flight plan apart from connections with mainland China.

“The company is currently examining the possibility of using passenger aircraft without passengers . . . to furt her i ncrease cargo c apacit y,” Lufthansa said.

Finance director Ulrik Svensson added that the group is “financially well equipped” to weather the corona storm, with € 4.3 billion [$4.7 billion] of liquidity on hand.

Lufthansa also has “unused credit lines” and “further funds are currently being raised,” the group said.