Pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and subsidiary Eurowings began a 48-hour strike on Monday morning, with the UFO cabin crew union announcing a separate stoppage immediately after. UFO said it would strike from midnight Wednesday until 23:59 on Thursday, potentially extending disruption to four consecutive days.
Hundreds of flights were canceled on Monday, with Frankfurt and Munich—the airline’s largest hubs—hit hardest. Frankfurt Airport warned of delays and cancellations throughout April 13 and 14, and several domestic routes were being replaced by rail services. Munich’s departures board showed only remaining scheduled flights and urged passengers to check with carriers for updates. Eurowings pilots are striking only on Monday; Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots called on by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) were instructed to strike for two days. Not all pilots are VC members, so participation is not guaranteed.
VC announced exemptions for flights to destinations in the Middle East because of ongoing conflict in Iran and the Gulf. Flights from Germany to Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen were excluded from the action.
Lufthansa said it was “working intensively to keep the impact on our passengers as low as possible,” trying to operate flights via other airlines within the Lufthansa Group and partner carriers. The airline advised passengers whose flights were canceled that they could exchange tickets for Deutsche Bahn rail journeys.
The dispute centers on pay, the company pension scheme and remuneration at regional subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine. Lufthansa criticized VC’s demand to double its company pension plan, calling it “absurd and unfulfillable.” VC President Andreas Pinheiro said the union felt “forced into this step” after what he described as the employer’s lack of willingness to find a solution in several wage disputes. VC also noted it had refrained from striking over the Easter holidays but had received no serious offers from the company.
UFO’s chief negotiator Harry Jaeger said the latest action follows strong member participation in a recent strike and accused Lufthansa of taking a hardline stance. VC and UFO previously coordinated a joint strike once this year; if this week’s plans proceed, Lufthansa will have faced strike action from one of the unions on five consecutive workdays.
This is the fourth major strike at the airline in 2026. Middle Eastern routes are being kept operational amid regional tensions, while Lufthansa continues efforts to reroute or substitute services to reduce passenger disruption.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse