Sunday December 27, 2020
Lufthansa boss wants regulation
Spohr: Long-haul flights probably only with a test
Passenger numbers at Lufthansa also collapse during the pandemic, but the airline is doing better than expected. For the near future, the boss would like to see clear rules about who is allowed to fly under what circumstances.
According to Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr, long-haul flights will probably only be possible in the future with a negative corona test or vaccination certificate. "Personally, I assume that in the future, every passenger on intercontinental flights on certain routes will either be tested or vaccinated," said Spohr of "Welt am Sonntag".
In a first phase, the number of routes with mandatory quick tests will initially increase. "In the second phase, there will likely be an option between testing or proof of vaccination." If the world population has sufficient immunity, the vaccination certificate would be superfluous. A compulsory vaccination, as planned by the Australian airline Quantas, is not planned at Lufthansa. "No, we as an airline cannot and do not want to prescribe that," said Spohr.
The Lufthansa boss does not expect that there will be a uniform line for all global air traffic on this issue. "Some countries are already making tests mandatory for all passengers, while others continue to rely on quarantine." In any case, a European solution with the stipulation "test instead of quarantine" would be desirable. Like all aviation, Lufthansa is suffering from the travel restrictions in the pandemic.
"Ten billion euros available liquidity"
The airline was saved from collapse with a billion dollar rescue package from the federal government. "In December we had less than ten percent of the passengers compared to the previous year, but still ten billion euros available liquidity at the end of the year," said Spohr. "This is primarily due to the fact that we were able to reduce costs significantly faster than planned." The manager pointed out that 29,000 employees will leave the group by the end of the year, around every fifth Lufthansa employee. "So that as few employees as possible have to leave the company, we strive for intelligent part-time models."
Distress sales are currently not an issue. "There are no plans to sell Austrian Airlines," said Spohr. "With around ten billion euros available liquidity and sufficient balance sheet reserves, I can rule out over-indebtedness from today's perspective." Spohr does not expect the number of passengers to return to the level before the pandemic in the coming years. "We are realistically assuming that by the middle of the decade we will have up to ten percent fewer passengers than in the pre-Corona period."
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