Lufthansa cancels flights as pilots call in sick

German airline Lufthansa has had to cancel several intercontinental flights over the Christmas period because a number of its pilots are off sick, a company spokesperson said on Thursday.

Particularly affected are services flying to Boston, Houston and Washington during the December 23-26 period, the representative said, explaining that the flights could be most easily rebooked.

The company planned "a very large buffer. But that is not sufficient considering the extremely high sickness rate," he added.

The spokesperson would not be drawn on whether the high sickness rate was linked to the coronavirus outbreak, which is currently being driven by the new Omicron variant.

He said he was not aware of the nature of the illness among pilots.