Lufthansa suffers record losses and struggles to take off again
The Covid-19 epidemic has plunged the sector into an unprecedented crisis which has not spared the leading European air transport group.
REUTERS / Hannibal Hanschke
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Saved in June by a vast rescue plan for Berlin, the leading European air transport group suffered a loss of 6.7 billion euros in 2020. A record.
And the year 2021 will also be tinged with red.
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Red almost everywhere on
the Lufthansa
financial table
.
Turnover is down 63% while the number of passengers is less than 75%.
The only positive record is the cargo branch, whose operating profits have exploded due to soaring demand and soaring prices.
But not enough to offset the drop in passenger traffic.
Lufthansa predicts that this year will also end in the red, although the operational loss will be lower.
In the first quarter, liquidity will continue to shrink by around 300 million euros per month.
Up to 30,000 jobs threatened
Lufthansa plans to offer more seats for reservation than last year, but the peak of activity should stay far from the standards of 2019. And it does not expect a return to 90% of its pre-Covid offer until here. the middle of the decade.
The companies in the group will therefore cut back on costs.
The fleet will be reduced by some 150 planes.
And up to 30,000 jobs are at risk.
That said, redundancies are a priori excluded for a year.
An agreement to this effect was concluded with the unions in return for cost-saving measures.
► To read also: What future for the aviation and aeronautics sector?
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