Lufthansa Airline Sees Annual Profit After COVID-19 Losses

German airline giant Lufthansa said on Friday it returned to annual profit in 2022 after two years of losses.

The group reported a net profit of 791 million euros ($839 million) last year. This compares to a net loss of 2.2 billion euros in 2021 and 6.7 billion euros in 2020.

The company's CEO Carsten Spohr said; "Lufthansa is back.”

He added; "In just one year, we have achieved an unprecedented financial turnaround, the Lufthansa Group has achieved a much better result than expected. Demand for air travel remains high in 2023."

The group also reported an adjusted operating profit of 1.5 billion euros, in line with expectations.

Lufthansa suffered massive losses and had to be bailed out by the German government in 2020 due to the COVID-19. The airline – one of Europe's biggest - has bounced back faster than expected.

Lufthansa, which also includes Eurowings, Austrian, Swiss and Brussels Airlines, said 102 million passengers flew with airlines of the group in 2022 – more than twice as many as in 2021.