Lufthansa and KLM to make changes to flight schedules and cut cheap deals

Two major European carriers Lufthansa and KLM decided to limit the sale of cheap tickets for their flights, in addition, a number of flights were simply canceled. The reason for such drastic measures is the problems due to the lack of personnel and the increased demand for flights. Writes about it Financial Times .

As Andrew Charlton, managing director of Aviation Advocacy, told the FT, in many cases airlines cancel flights due to problems beyond their control, including lack of staff at hub airports.

Lufthansa said it had suspended the sale of low-cost tickets "for a short period of a few days" so that passengers affected by massive flight cancellations could rebook tickets. While the special measures were in place, travel was paid at a flat rate of €500 per flight, resulting in even return flights within the country costing €1,000. The airline said the plan "worked" and the restrictions were lifted.

Lufthansa said it has canceled 770 flights to try to increase the resilience of its operations during the busiest periods of the day and evening. The cancellations will last until July 14, the airline said.

Dutch company KLM said it would "strongly limit" the sale of remaining tickets to KLM's European destinations and regional airline KLM Cityhopper. KLM has also stopped accepting cargo on some flights to ease the burden on its ground handlers.

KLM will cancel up to 20 flights every day in Europe until the end of August. The airline has been hit hard by problems at Schiphol, its hub airport in Amsterdam, which has been suffering from staff shortages this summer.