FRANKFURT, Germany, MAR 06 (V7N) — Lufthansa, Germany's leading airline group, reported a sharp decline in 2024 profits, citing a year plagued by strikes, escalating costs, and aircraft delivery delays. The company's post-pandemic recovery momentum appears to have stalled.

The airline giant's net profit dropped to 1.38 billion euros ($1.49 billion), an 18 percent decrease from the previous year. Despite this, revenues saw a six percent increase, reaching 37.6 billion euros.

"Strikes weighed on the passenger airlines," Lufthansa stated, highlighting the impact of industrial action on its operations. The company also pointed to "significantly higher costs, especially in Germany," and ongoing "further delays in aircraft deliveries" as contributing factors to the profit decline.

While the reported profit was lower than the previous year, it slightly exceeded analysts' forecasts of just over one billion euros.

This downturn follows two years of improved earnings for Lufthansa, which, like other airlines, faced severe financial strain during the COVID-19 pandemic. The German government provided a bailout in 2020 to prevent the company's collapse. Following the lifting of travel restrictions, Lufthansa experienced a strong rebound in demand and profitability, but the challenges of 2024 have reversed that trend.

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