Due to the new travel restrictions imposed to limit the spread of new variants of COVID-19, European airlines had to cancel thousands of flights in January and February 2022. The new variant COVID-19, also known as Omicron, led to when the number of reservations for this beginning of the year decreases.
Thousands of flights have already been canceled in 2022
After a promising 2021, when airlines have resumed flights on hundreds of routes, a less favorable period is coming. The airlines from Lufthansa Group and Air France - KLM, as well as the low-cost operators RYANAIR, Wizz Air, Blue Air, easyJet, Vueling have announced adjustments to the operational program.
Lufthansa Group cancels 33000 flights
According to an announcement made by Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings had to cancel 33000 flights, representing 10% of the operational program during this period.
At the same time, Lufthansa Group companies lost passengers in the markets of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Belgium, these countries being the most affected by the pandemic. Lufthansa Group companies were also required to operate 18000 extra flights and unnecessary just to keep the takeoff and landing slots. Brussels Airlines reported that it was forced to operate about 3000 unnecessary flights due to the slot problem.
RYANAIR cancels 33% of scheduled flights in January 2022
As mentioned above, there are other companies in Europe in the situation of Lufthansa Group. RYANAIR, one of the largest low-cost carriers on the old continent, has announced that it has reduced its operating schedule by 33%, obviously for the same reasons. In conclusion, RYANAIR has reduced transport capacity for January 2022 from 10 million to 6-7 million passengers. Operational adjustments will be made in February and March in the near future. RYANAIR flights scheduled to / from Romania are also affected.
Wizz Air and Blue Air cancel flights to / from Romania
Wizz Air, in turn, announced flight cancellations and route reductions. Wizz Air cancels thousands of flights in 2022 and suspends over 100 routes in Europe. Operations from / To Romania, from / to Italy, but also to other European countries are affected. Other airports affected by the reduction of routes and cancellation of Wizz Air flights: Warsaw; Gdansk; Dortmund; Sofia; Oslo; Koln; Madrid, Faro and more.
Inclusive Blue Air cancels hundreds of flights between January and February 2022. Most of the affected routes are operated from the base in Bucharest, followed by those in Bacau, Cluj and Iasi.
Many other airlines have made adjustments to the operational schedule and reduced frequencies on certain less sought-after routes during this period.