Pilots at Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and subsidiary Eurowings launched a 48-hour strike on Monday morning, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights and hitting the airline’s main hubs in Frankfurt and Munich hardest. This is the fourth industrial action to affect the carrier in 2026.
The walkout was called by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union. The UFO cabin crew union, which staged a separate strike last week, has also been in dispute with the airline. Not all pilots across Lufthansa’s airlines are VC members, so participation varied and full grounding of services was not guaranteed.
Which flights were affected
Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest, showed most Lufthansa short- and medium-haul departures canceled on Monday, with the airport warning of widespread delays and disruption on April 13 and 14. Several domestic services were converted to replacement Deutsche Bahn rail connections. Munich’s departure schedule carried a strong warning for Lufthansa and Eurowings passengers to check with carriers amid severe strike-related disruption.
Eurowings pilots took strike action only on Monday, and the carrier said it expected to keep a large portion of services operating despite the action. Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots affiliated with VC were on strike for both days.
Middle East routes exempted
VC excluded flights to a range of Middle Eastern destinations because of travel uncertainty linked to the conflict in Iran and the wider region. Flights from Germany by Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine to Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen were not part of the strike.
Airline and union statements
Lufthansa said it was working intensively to limit disruption, seeking to operate as many services as possible via other airlines within the Lufthansa Group and partner carriers. The airline advised passengers on canceled flights that they could exchange tickets for Deutsche Bahn rail journeys.
VC said the action centers on pay disputes, company pension arrangements and remuneration at regional unit CityLine. Lufthansa criticized VC’s demands, saying the union’s core call to double an already above-average company pension plan was absurd and unfulfillable. VC president Andreas Pinheiro said the union felt forced into strike action after the company showed no recognisable willingness to resolve several wage disputes, adding that VC had refrained from striking over the Easter holidays but had still received no acceptable offers or signs of readiness to negotiate.