Lufthansa airlines, Germany’s national carrier, will operate 18,000 “empty, unnecessary” flights this winter when it would otherwise suspend service because of low passenger numbers.
Due to European Union regulations, which specify that airlines must use 80% of their slots, the empty flights will operate. If they do not, they could lose their takeoff and landing rights to rival airlines.
A Lufthansa subsidiary, Brussels Airlines, expects 3,000 passenger-free flights by the end of March.
The flights are “empty, unnecessary flights just to secure our landing and take-off rights” according to Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa’s chief executive.
Belgium’s mobility minister, Georges Gilkinet, has written to the European Commission requesting that a law be changed to prohibit flights that are “environmental, economic and social nonsense”.
The European Union’s current climate pledge calls for a 55%t reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, and for climate neutrality by 2030.
This announcement comes just two months after the UN Climate Conference in Glasgow. Greta Thunberg tweeted about the news, saying: “The EU surely is in a climate emergency mode…”
In December, Lufthansa Group announced that it would eliminate 33,000 flights from its winter schedule due to the Omicron variant – equivalent to 10% of its entire network plan.
Additionally, they have set a climate target, similar to the EU, to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 2019 and achieve a neutral carbon balance by 2050.
Lufthansa airlines are operating 18,000 empty 'unnecessary' flights to maintain their airport slots
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