The Swiss national carrier SWISS has canceled 1,400 flights during the summer season due to a pilot shortage, reports swissinfo.ch. The company, part of the Lufthansa Group, explained that this situation resulted from unexpected circumstances and overly optimistic flight scheduling.
The canceled flights include long-haul destinations such as Chicago, where the number of flights will be halved in September and October, as well as numerous short and medium-haul routes. According to a SWISS spokesperson’s statement to the AWP news agency, the canceled flights account for 1.5% of the airline’s total flights between April and October.
The main reasons for the pilot shortage are an unusually high number of long-term absences, including pregnancies and accidents, as well as ongoing retraining of crews for the new Airbus A350. Additionally, a new collective labor agreement with improved working conditions has increased the need for around 70 additional full-time positions.
Oliver Buchhofer, SWISS’s Chief Operating Officer, told Aerotelegraph that the company is also facing technical challenges. For example, there is a shortage of A220 aircraft due to engine problems, while there are enough A320 aircraft, but an insufficient crew. External assistance, such as leasing aircraft from partners or support from Lufthansa, has already been exhausted.
To mitigate the immediate situation, the company has temporarily extended the employment of some senior pilots, and part-time employees are working additional hours. In the long term, SWISS plans to expand pilot training capacity and hire up to 110 new pilots annually.
