Lufthansa Cargo has warned customers of severe delays and cancellations until the end of the year, and said it is reviewing existing bookings.
And the carrier added that it “cannot ensure the usual quality of service”.
The disruption is at Lufthansa’s Frankfurt and Munich hubs, caused by an “exceptionally high level of staff sickness and recent extreme winter weather conditions”.
Lufthansa Cargo told customers: “The exceptional staff shortages are challenging our freight operations and putting a heavy strain on the system.
“Together with our system partners, we have taken measures to clear the backlog of cargo shipments… as quickly as possible.
“However, it has become clear that these measures are not sufficient to ensure the usual quality of service.”
A spokesperson for Lufthansa Cargo told The Loadstar: “These bottlenecks reflect the general crisis in the labour market, a situation that has severely affected our industry since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
As a result, Lufthansa warned customers, it has had to take additional methods to stabilise the situation. These include suspending booking on td.Zoom, its priority cargo service, on selected flights until the end of the year, and reviewing and rebooking existing bookings on other flights.
Frankfurt Airport told The Loadstar: “In the past few weeks we had so-called low-visibility operations on several days, due to heavy fog.
“Additionally, on several days, the German weather service (DWD) forecast snowfall and freezing rain. Accordingly, our winter services were deployed – aircraft had to be de-iced and runways and taxiways had to be cleared.
“We are in early contact with our partners about such forecasts to prepare for predicted weather conditions, for example through pre-tactical flight cancellations by the airlines.”
However, the airport also noted that “not every flight cancellation can be attributed to the weather”.
Flightradar shows 78% of flight departures were delayed at Frankfurt yesterday. Of the flights that have departed today, 43% have been delayed.
Lufthansa Cargo told The Loadstar: “Despite the operational constraints, we are currently maintaining our published schedule.
“Our commitment to maintaining service quality and the well-being of our employees remains our top priority during these difficult times. We are focused on quickly identifying and implementing effective strategies to address this situation.”
