Lufthansa preparing 'air bridge' to supply Germany through epidemic

[March 17, 2020]  BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's largest airline, Lufthansa <LHAG.DE>, is working with the government to prepare an "air bridge" to ensure that necessary goods would continue to arrive in Germany during the coronavirus epidemic, the airline's boss said on Tuesday.

Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG attends the Europe Aviation Summit in Brussels, Belgium March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/File Photo

Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr told Bild newspaper that the airline was preparing to deploy its 747 and Lufthansa Cargo fleets to that end, and was working on revised crew schedules to ensure adequate staffing.

"Lufthansa will do everything in its power to ensure the supply chains supplying the population of Germany can be maintained by air," he said. "We are working very hard on an air bridge for the whole of Germany."

The original "air bridge" was the 1948-1949 operation by the Western allies to provide supplies to the West German exclave of West Berlin after Soviet forces blockaded the city, located deep in the heart of the then East Germany.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Michelle Martin)

[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.