Lufthansa has had to cancel hundreds of flights due to ongoing labor unrest by pilots and flight attendants at the national airline of Germany.
The pilots’ union, called Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), has staged a 48-hour strike from Monday, affecting not only the Lufthansa brand but also the airline’s cargo arm and even its regional carrier called CityLine. The pilots of Eurowings will not strike until Monday.
Frankfurt International Airport, which is Germany’s busiest airport, saw 570 take-offs and landings cancelled, most of which belonged to Lufthansa. This affected more than 50,000 passengers.
Lufthansa reported that two-thirds of its short- and medium-haul flights and half of its long-haul flights were grounded. Eurowings, another subsidiary of Lufthansa, flew just under 60% of its scheduled routes.
The strike is caused by a dispute over the company’s pension scheme, with VC demanding an increased contribution from Lufthansa by over 100%. The airline referred to the request as “absurd and unfulfillable.”
In a further aggravating factor, the UFO cabin crew union began its two-day strike effective Wednesday, bringing Lufthansa to four days of strikes in a row.
However, according to the airline, flights to the Middle East will not be affected due to ongoing conflicts in Iran.
Lufthansa recommended exchanging tickets for train vouchers to minimize inconvenience to passengers, while criticizing the unnecessary strike. Union representatives, however, referred to management’s reluctance to negotiate as the reason for the strikes.
This strike is the fourth this year involving Lufthansa pilots.
