Lufthansa has slashed full-year profit forecasts after seeing advance bookings to Europe “significantly reduce”.
The German carrier blamed repeated terrorist attacks across Europe as well as greater political and economic uncertainty since the last forecast in March.
It lowered its 2016 forecast to “below the previous year” from “slightly above the previous year”.
“As of today, the Executive Board regards a complete recovery as not likely anymore,” the group said. It added that despite the warnings earnings performance was above the previous year for the first six months.
Lufthansa added that it would now increase the number of seats it offers by 5.4 per cent this year instead of its previous target of 6 per cent.
Union dispute
Lufthansa has been hit this year by continued strikes and said the recent settlement with flight attendants’ union UFO has not been included on the balance sheet.
Earlier this month, both sides agreed a long-term “no strike” agreement following six months of talks to finally settle the long-running dispute over pay and early retirement benefits.