Lufthansa on course for recovery, Ukraine crisis limits visibility

Lufthansa, which narrowed its losses in 2021 but remained in the red, said it could not provide a detailed outlook for 2022 due to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. The airline said it expected significant improvement in operating results for the rest of the year after a challenging Q1 2022. "We are very sure that air traffic will experience a strong upswing this year," said CE Carsten Spohr. "Now we are leaving the crisis behind us mentally and - in view of the strong booking figures this year - also in business terms." But major uncertainties regarding developments in Ukraine and the economic and political fallout, as well as uncertainties regarding the course of the pandemic, did not allow the company to provide a detailed financial outlook, Lufthansa said. Moscow has closed its airspace to European and US aircraft after European states and the United States banned Russian flights. Airlines are bracing for potentially lengthy blockages of key east-west flight corridors and preparing for further disruptions to its passenger and freight businesses.<br/>