Amid the ongoing travel restrictions, Lufthansa will now only serve 18 long-haul flights a week. The flag carrier of Germany will operate this limited schedule through May 3rd.
The carrier will operate what it calls “an urgently needed basic service”, with three weekly flights from Frankfurt to each of Newark, Chicago, Montreal, Sao Paulo, Bangkok and Tokyo.
The airline is also currently serving Johannesburg, but these flights will be cancelled by April 16, due to “official regulations”.
In addition Lufthansa is currently operating around 50 daily connections from its Frankfurt and Munich hubs to cities in Germany and Europe.
Fellow Lufthansa Group carrier Swiss will offer three weekly flights from both Zurich and Geneva to Newark, as well as “a substantially reduced short- and medium-haul timetable focusing on selected European cities”.
These scheduled services are in addition to over 300 special flights which have been carried out by Lufthansa Group carriers to get around 60,000 holidaymakers home to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium, with around 45 more currently being prepared, for clients including tour operators, cruise lines and governments.
Last month Lufthansa Group said it had grounded 700 of its 763 aircraft, with Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti all suspending regular operations in their entirety.
Regarding cancellations and the rebooking of flights, Lufthansa said:
“Passengers whose flights have been cancelled or who were unable to take their flight can keep their booking and do not have to commit to a new flight date for the time being. The ticket and ticket value remain unchanged and can be converted into a voucher for a new booking with a departure date up to and including April 30, 2021.
“The conversion into a voucher is possible online via the airlines’ websites. Customers who choose a new travel date up to and including December 31, 2020 will also receive a €50 discount on every rebooking.”