Lufthansa, which also owns Eurowings, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Swiss International, is set to axe around 33,000 flights in total, according to media reports in Germany.
Chief executive Carsten Spohr said there was a “sharp downturn” in the group’s bookings from mid-January to February as its key European markets suffer from the impact of a huge surge in Covid infections.
He added the group would be cutting even more services if it did not have to operate 18,000 “unnecessary” flights to comply with the EU’s rules on the use of flight slots.
Germany has increased its Covid travel restrictions this week including banning UK holidaymakers from entry into the country.
