Swamped Skies Ahead: Swiss Cancels Over a Thousand Flights Due to Pilot Shortage this Summer
Subsidiary of Lufthansa, Swiss, is compelled to scrap approximately 1400 flights during summer.
Hey there! Get ready for a rough ride if you're planning a vacation with Swiss, the subsidiary of Lufthansa airline. More than a thousand flights are set to be grounded this summer due to a dire lack of pilots. It ain't a decree from the weather gods, but an internal predicament instead.
Swiss has announced the cancellation of about 1,400 flights between April and October, accounting for 1.5% of their flight plan. According to industry portal "Aerotelegraph", the root causes are a combo of unexpected complications and overly ambitious forecasting. Long-haul flights, as well as multiple short and medium-haul trips, are set to feel the heat. A spokesperson for Swiss confirmed the unsettling news to "Aerotelegraph".
So, what's causing this crew crisis? Unlikely reasons such as extended absences due to pregnancies and accidents are contributing. Training of crews on the new Airbus A350 is also taking up crucial resources. On top of that, a new collective labor agreement, with improved work conditions, has raised the demand for personnel by around 70 full-time positions.
SWISS also faces engine issues with their Airbus A220 jets, which hinders the maintenance process as explained by Swiss manager Oliver Buchhofer to the specialist portal. Despite having enough A320 medium-haul jets, there's a dearth of suitable crews to operate them. Assistance from partners and Lufthansa has already been stretched to its limits.
To tackle this tempest, Swiss is taking immediate measures like delaying the retirement of senior pilots and increasing the work hours of part-time staff. In the long run, they're planning to ramp up cockpit training capacity and onboard up to 110 new pilots a year.
- Lufthansa
- Skills Shortage
- Pregnancy
[1] ntv.de, [2] as/dpa, [3] AviationPros.com, [4] FlightGlobal.com, [5] AviationSafety.org
In light of the pilot shortage affecting Swiss, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, the community might consider alternative transportation for their vacation plans this summer. To address the shortage, Swiss is planning to increase vocational training for pilots and cockpit staff in the long term, aiming to onboard up to 110 new pilots annually.
