Strikes ground flights in Paris, Lufthansa axes hundreds of flights

Several European airports have struggled to cope with passenger flows due to staff shortages as the travel industry recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.

Around 100 flights at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport were scrapped on Thursday morning after workers went on strike to demand higher wages.

A firefighters' strike forced the closure of two of the airport's four runways between 7:00 am and 2:00 pm (0500-1200 GMT) in accordance with safety procedures, airport operator ADP said.

Passengers experienced average delays of between 30 and 45 minutes. The hub's main operator Air France said delays would affect some of its long-haul flights.

ADP said it expected the delays to last all day.

Around 800 striking workers protested outside the airport demanding a pay rise of 300 euros ($320) amid staff shortages and following years of job cuts caused by the pandemic.

"We've been under-staffed for two years and the wages haven't kept up," said Oumar Aw, who works for an Air France sub-contractor.

ADP, whose staff took pay cuts to survive the coronavirus crisis, has said salary negotiations with the trade unions will take place from June 14.

Lufthansa also facing issues

German national carrier Lufthansa also said Thursday it was cancelling hundreds of flights during the summer holidays because of staff shortages as the industry attempts to bounce back from the pandemic.

The company said in a statement it had seen a "jump in demand" as the coronavirus outbreak has eased, which "after the most severe crisis in aviation is good news".

However, it said that "infrastructure has not fully recovered", leading to "bottlenecks and staff shortages" in Europe, hitting airports, ground services, air traffic control and airlines.

As a result Lufthansa said it had scrapped 900 German and European flights for July at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays -- around five percent of its normal weekend capacity.

Its carrier Eurowings axed "several hundred flights" for July.

The company said passengers who had already booked flights would be informed and rescheduled.

It added that it was asking its customers to allow enough time at airports to deal with possible delays, use digital services as much as possible and reduce carry-on luggage.

Lufthansa chief executive Carsten Spohr said last month the airline was projecting a record summer for tourist activity, with the latest data showing passenger numbers bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic.

The number of passengers on Lufthansa flights had "more than quadrupled" in the first quarter to 13 million, from three million in 2021, Spohr said, when travel restrictions in many markets were more severe.

Luxembourg impact

The 11am Luxair flight to Paris CDG was cancelled today, Thursday the 9th of June, though it is unclear at this time if it was due to the strikes in Paris. An arriving flight from the same airport, scheduled to land at 1.50pm, was also cancelled. Updates on flight status can be found on the Luxembourg Airport website.

Similar to other major European airports, Findel is currently struggling to keep up with the passenger flow, which means that people may continue facing extended waiting periods over the summer months. Read more on that here.