Lufthansa has put German workers on notice of compulsory lay-offs, saying tumbling air travel and slow progress in union negotiations meant cuts were unavoidable after it lost 1.7 billion euros ($2 billion) in a single quarter, Reuters reported.
“As airlines are planning to come back into full operations; there is a serious need to be in compliance with global best practice.
“Recently FAA issued an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (AD), warning that both B737 engines could shut down after take-off, this was which was prompted by four recent reports of single-engine shutdowns due to engine bleed air 5th stage check valve – which get stuck if faulty as most aircraft has been on-ground some were even on storage during this pandemic,” it added.
The German airline, which secured a nine billion euro state bailout in June, flew just four per cent of prior-year passengers between April and June as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and expects capacity to increase to only around 50 per cent by the end of the year and two-thirds of last year’s level in 2021.
Its outlook is more pessimistic than rivals such as Air France-KLM which expects to fly 80 per cent of its pre-crisis flights next year, and British Airways and Iberia owner IAG which forecasts capacity to be 24 per cent lower in 2021.
