Staff shortages: Lufthansa crews warn: “Frankfurt flight operations are on the verge of collapse”

Compared to 2022, air traffic performance is much better this year. “We have taken a big step forward,” Carsten Spohr, president of the Lufthansa Group, said at a media event last week. He was referring to the quality of service as well as reliability and punctuality. But he also said: “We are not where we want to be yet.”

The fact is that demand is still high and supply is limited due to various factors. On the one hand, there is the problem of missing aircraft – due to difficulties in delivering seats, due to unscheduled maintenance as a result of engine problems, due to delays in issuing certificates. But there are also problems on the staff side.

Many flights with fewer crew than planned

Pressure is particularly high at the Frankfurt location, shows a message from a flight attendant crew representative, received by AeroTELEGRAPH. Clear words are chosen there. The reports we receive every day on operations “as well as the forecasts for planning for October make us fear that flight operations in Frankfurt are on the verge of collapse.”

There is currently a “long list” of daily flights departing Frankfurt with fewer crew members on board than planned. And things aren’t looking good for October either. The flight plan, which is currently in the planning stage, does not match the operational plans.

Problems in Munich too

This means that some positions in the cabin cannot currently be filled at all. If you ask the cabin crew, Lufthansa is not solely to blame. In addition to the lack of staff, there is currently a high level of illness. This always poses a risk when reserves are low.

This is the biggest problem in Frankfurt, but there are also difficulties with second place in Munich. There is currently a high level of illness there due to Oktoberfest, which is putting a lot of pressure on the crews working on site in Bavaria.

Call the crisis team

Employee representatives are now calling on the company to form a crisis team that “will analyze how these blatant planning errors occurred and the current situation.” The cabin crew is also keen to ensure stable flight operations.

Lufthansa does not wish to comment on the matter at this time.