Transportation

Air Berlin cancels flights as pilots call in sick

Key Points
  • Air Berlin cancelled around 70 flights Tuesday after a high number of pilots called in sick
  • The airline was forced file for bankruptcy protection last month
  • Bidders are lining up to buy the airline's assets, with seen in pole position to acquire large parts of its rival
Artur Widak | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Insolvent said it is cancelling around 70 flights on Tuesday after pilots called in sick in unusually high numbers.

Departures information on its website showed flights cancelled from a range of German airports including Berlin Tegel, Duesseldorf, Hamburg and Cologne.

TUIfly was also forced to cancel flights last year after many pilots called in sick, with their union saying staff were concerned that merger talks, since failed, could lead to job and pay cuts.

Representatives from pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit were not immediately available for comment.

Air Berlin, Germany's second-largest airline, was forced to file for bankruptcy protection last month after shareholder Etihad Airways withdrew funding following years of losses.

Bidders are lining up to buy the airline's assets, with seen in pole position to acquire large parts of its rival.

Bidders have until Sept. 15 to submit binding offers, with a decision possible as early as Sept. 21, three days before a German national election.