Lufthansa is drastically cutting its winter flight schedule to the region
The German national carrier is pulling hundreds of weekly flights to Southeastern Europe in the upcoming winter season, and a wave of restructuring will hit Zagreb, Ljubljana and Belgrade hard.
Lufthansa is undergoing a serious consolidation phase, during which, according to the latest plans for the 2026/2027 winter timetable, it will cut approximately 480 weekly rotations compared to initial projections. On an annual basis, the reduction is even more drastic, amounting to over 800 fewer flights per week. This move is part of a broader plan to stabilise operations and increase the profitability of the group's parent brand. Instead of aggressive expansion, the focus has shifted to operational stability at its main hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, but the markets of the former Yugoslavia will pay the price for this strategy, losing significant capacity.
Zagreb is halved compared to Frankfurt, is Air Dolomiti saving the day?
The Croatian market will feel these changes through a significant reduction in capacity on one of the key business and feeder routes. Namely, Lufthansa is halving the number of flights between Zagreb and Frankfurt. Instead of the current two daily flights, only one daily rotation will remain on the schedule.
To somewhat mitigate this decline and maintain its presence, the group will rely more heavily on its subsidiary Air Dolomiti's so-called wet-lease arrangements on this route. Passengers can seek some compensation via the Bavarian hub, as the route to Munich remains stable with two flights per day, which is even a slight increase compared to last winter in certain months. Despite this, the total number of available seats for passengers from Croatia will be significantly lower than the industry is accustomed to.
Ljubljana temporarily loses Munich, Belgrade with minimal adjustments
The Slovenian capital completely loses its direct connection to Munich during the winter months. After this route was already shaken by the temporary suspension of Lufthansa CityLine's operations in April this year, management has decided to completely cancel all ten planned weekly flights for the winter. The re-establishment of this route is not expected until the end of March next year with the summer timetable. For the Slovenian market, Frankfurt remains the only gateway to Lufthansa's network with two flights daily.
On the other hand, Belgrade Airport has suffered the fewest setbacks. The number of flights to Munich will decrease by only one rotation per week, remaining at thirteen weekly flights. Furthermore, from January next year, a slight recovery in capacity is also planned for this route, provided there are no new unforeseen fleet issues.
The operational reality behind strategic decisions
Although these decisions are officially communicated as network optimisation and selective pruning to reduce costs on short routes, aviation industry analysts see this as a clear response to the chronic problems plaguing the German carrier. This primarily concerns the ongoing staff shortages and technical challenges within its own fleet.
For regional tourist agencies, and especially for the TMC sector, this means a renewed need to rearrange strategies. A reduced number of seats and less frequent rotations to key European hubs will inevitably lead to an increase in the prices of remaining tickets and make planning same-day business trips more difficult. The industry will have to seek solutions in alternative carriers or diverting clients via other European hubs.
