Lufthansa, Europe’s biggest airline, is planning to put 80 of its 760 aircraft back in the air from June. In a press statement on Friday, May 8, the German airline said it plans to serve 106 destinations from next month, most of them in Europe.
The airline said the plan was to meet increased passenger demand as most of the continent embraces some level of de-confinement.
Lufthansa doesn’t expect demand for air travel to bounce back to pre-lockdown levels before 2023, and is restructuring the business with a view to reducing its fleet by 100 aircraft and reducing its workforce by 10,000.
Austrian and Brussels Airlines are part of the Lufthansa group, which is currently in talks with the German government over a multi-billion euro rescue plan that would see the state take an equity stake. Switzerland has already agreed a loan of 1.2 billion euros to Swiss and Edelweiss, two Swiss airlines in which the German carrier has a stake.