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Germanwings Service Disrupted as Crew Members Refuse to Fly

Credit: Peter Cavanagh / Alamy

After one of Germanwings’ Airbus A320 jetliners crashed into the French Alps Tuesday, several of its pilots and cabin crew refused to fly, disrupting service, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday.

Further clarifying, the company said there were “occasional flight disruptions” due to “crew members who decided not to operate aircraft.”

“We understand their decision,” Thomas Winkelmann, a spokesperson for Germanwings, said.

Of the recent accusations that co-pilot of Tuesday’s Flight 9525, Andreas Lubitz locked himself in the cockpit and intentionally crashed the plane, chief executive of Lufthansa (parent company of Germanwings) Carsten Spohr said, “It leaves us absolutely speechless.”

“I can only repeat what I have said over the last few days. We are really, deeply shocked.”

Caroline Hallemann is the Assistant Digital Editor of Travel + Leisure. Follow her on Twitter at @challemann.