Summer Travel Woes: Lufthansa's Swiss Subsidiary Cancels 1400 Flights Due to Pilot Shortage
Subsidiary of Lufthansa, Swiss Airlines, Forced to Halt 1400 Flights During Summer Season
Getting your summer vacation off the ground might prove more challenging than usual for passengers of Swiss, the Lufthansa subsidiary. Hundreds of flights are being scrapped until October, but the reasons aren't external – they're internal.
The pilot shortfall at Swiss has led to the cancellation of over 1400 flights this summer, according to airline officials. This predicament was born from a concoction of unexpected setbacks and overly optimistic planning. Both long-haul and various short and medium-haul flights are affected. A Swiss spokesperson confirmed this information to industry portal "Aerotelegraph".
This amounts to 1.5% of the airline's flight plan between April and October. Unusually, many pilots are absent for extended periods due to factors such as pregnancies, accidents, and other personal reasons. The transition to the new Airbus A350 and the new collective labor agreement with improved working time regulations are likewise tying up capacity, increasing the demand for personnel by around 70 full-time positions.
Swiss manager Oliver Buchhofer has also attributed the shortage to engine problems with A220 aircraft, as reported by the specialist portal. While the number of A320 medium-haul jets is sufficient, there is a lack of crews to operate them. The airline has already exhausted all possible external help from partners and Lufthansa in the short term.
In the immediate future, Swiss is turning to older pilots who are delaying retirement and temporarily increasing the hours of part-time workers to mitigate the shortage. Long-term, their plan is to expand cockpit training capacity and hire up to 110 new pilots annually.
- Lufthansa Pilot Crisis
- Aviation Labor Challenges
- Aircraft Maintenance Issues
Rumors suggest that Swiss is considering adding more wet-leased aircraft beyond those already contracted to alleviate the situation, at least temporarily.
Amidst the Lufthansa Pilot Crisis, the community policy might need to be amended to accommodate older pilots delaying retirement for vocational training, as Swiss tackles the shortage. Meanwhile, travel plans may require adaptation due to Swiss's extensive flight cancellations this summer, a result of various internal factors such as aircraft maintenance issues and vacation time taken for personal reasons.
