After the corona-related cancellation of some 100 flights over the weekend and another 19 on Monday, Austrian Airlines hopes the situation will stabilize on Tuesday. With the exception of a direct flight to Stuttgart, for which a replacement is via Hanover, all flights will operate as scheduled. However, passengers should check the status of their flight before going to the airport.
AUA boss Annette Mann had said before the weekend there was no shortage of staff like other airlines – such as AUA parent company Lufthansa – thanks to short-time work and 150 new cabin crew jobs. Meanwhile, the aviation portal “Austrian Wings” writes that AUA had urged 50 flight attendants to leave the company in the spring with a financial bonus (“Golden Handshake”). At that time it was already foreseeable that about 150 crew members would be missing.
A flight attendant is quoted by “Austrian Wings” without mentioning her that the financial offer only applied if someone left the company before the summer. In the end, the company said goodbye to 50 experienced flight attendants and another 100 young people left the company on their own initiative. Now people are being urged to work on their days off.
Short-term absenteeism cannot be foreseen”
“Due to the new circumstances of a changed and reduced fleet and the associated crew configurations, Austrian Airlines also had to make personnel adjustments. Social packages have been agreed with the employees concerned.” In principle, Austrian Airlines has sufficient personnel resources in the cabin for the planned flight program and has since hired even 200 new flight attendants. “Unfortunately, short-term absenteeism such as now with another corona wave cannot be foreseen.”
FPÖ traffic spokesman Christian Hafenecker referred to the support package of 450 million euros for the AUA in the context of the Corona crisis. Nevertheless, employees were sent on short-time working or fired. The AUA has been one of the largest beneficiaries of the federal government’s “free” coronavirus relief policy. Hafenecker demanded that the company now investigate all possibilities to get the money back from the company.
AUA is just one of many airlines currently struggling with cancellations. But where at AUA it is mainly corona cases that lead to flight cancellations, other airlines often cancel flights due to staff shortages at airports. In Germany, for example, thousands of passengers were unable to take off at the weekend due to handling problems. Lufthansa has already canceled about 3000 connections for the summer (see video above). Before that, there were also problems with the handling of passengers in Amsterdam and London.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
