Europe's 2nd-biggest airline plans to hire 20,000 new workers as the aviation industry battles pandemic staff shortages

• Lufthansa CEO said the airline wants to hire 20,000 employees by the end of next year.
• Lufthansa told Insider most of the roles will be in areas such as crew, catering, and ground staff.

Europe's second-largest airline by passenger numbers is planning to recruit almost 20,000 employees by the end of next year as chaos in the travel industry rumbles on.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr spoke about the airline's hiring spree in a news briefing on Monday, seen by Reuters.

A spokesperson for the company, which operates a suite of airlines including Swiss and Austrian Airlines, told Reuters it plans to create 12,000 new jobs and replace 8,000 staff who have left during the pandemic.

Lufthansa confirmed the hiring plans to Insider, saying most of the positions will be in operational areas, including crews, ground staff, technical, and catering.

Like many other airlines, Lufthansa has struggled to cope with the combination of resurgent travel demand and a depleted workforce following mass layoffs during the pandemic. Consequent flight cancellations have caused disruption for passengers.

Spohr said in the briefing, per Reuters, that Lufthansa won't reach pre-pandemic capacity levels next year as a potential recession could take its toll on the German economy.

"We have no plans to leave the profitability we achieved in the second quarter," Spohr said in the briefing, adding that July and August were both great months for Lufthansa, Reuters reported.

Spohr said in a presentation to investors in early August that Lufthansa wanted to hire 5,000 new employees in the second half of 2022, and a similar figure in 2023, he added.

His announcement on Monday suggests the airline is set to hire double the number of employees next year than originally stated.

The hiring spree announcement comes at a time when Lufthansa pilots are going on strike over pay for the second time in two weeks, the Vereinigung Cockpit union announcement in a press release on Monday. The strike last week forced the German airline to cancel hundreds of flights, leaving holidaymakers stranded.

The union, which says it represents around 10,000 cockpit crew members, is scheduled to strike from Wednesday to Thursday, according to its announcement.

Lufthansa on Tuesday said it would present a new offer to the union.