For 86 days, not a single aircraft took off from Brussels Airlines. At the height of the corona crisis, the Belgian national carrier had decided to stop operations completely. This enabled the airline to reduce its costs to a minimum.
Since June, 15, the Lufthansa subsidiary has been flying again. In August, Brussels Airlines wanted to offer 240 weekly flights again, 30 per cent of the originally planned offer in Europe and 40 per cent on long-haul routes. But the expansion will not happen as planned.
Talks with government «very complex»
In a statement to the employees, which has been reported on in various Belgian media, CEO Dieter Vranckx explains that there are currently no funds for the expansion. «In view of our worsening financial situation, we are postponing the capacity expansion.»
He blames the lack of government' aid. Vranckx said that the talks wit the state were «very complex and have not yet produced any results». Everything had been done to stabilise liquidity and Lufthansa had repeatedly made it clear that it will help Brussels Airlines, he added. But «the most important pillar is still the help of the Belgian government,» he said.
Up to 390 million for Brussels Airlines
Discussions with the government will involve aid in the amount of 290 to 390 million euros. In addition to the government, Lufthansa is also to inject new funds. Currently, Brussels Airlines operates two long-haul and 21 short-haul aircraft.
The management already announced a drastic savings plan in May. It plans to reduce the fleet by about 30 percent - from 54 to 38 aircraft. It also wants to reduce the workforce by 25 percent or 1000 jobs.
