Pilots at Germany’s flag carrier Lufthansa have announced further strike action on Thursday and Friday after a 48-hour walkout on Monday and Tuesday that forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
The airline also faces a cabin crew stoppage starting Wednesday and running through Thursday. Combined with the pilots’ action, the twin disputes with Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and the UFO cabin crew union mean major disruptions across six consecutive workdays.
VC president Andreas Pinheiro said the recent strikes had not moved the employer. He accused Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo of failing to present an offer on the company pension plan and said there was no viable wage agreement offer from Lufthansa CityLine or a pension offer from Eurowings. VC has recommended arbitration as a way to resolve the increasingly acrimonious dispute, which coincides with the airline’s centenary.
About 900 flights were canceled at Germany’s two busiest hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, on Tuesday amid the action. VC said pilots serving the Middle East would be spared from striking because of unrest in the region; flights to Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen would be allowed to operate.
Wednesday’s centenary celebrations outside Lufthansa’s headquarters at Frankfurt Airport are expected to be overshadowed by the disputes. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder are due to attend, while VC and UFO plan a rally outside the company site.
Although pilots are not striking on Wednesday, the cabin crew walkout begins that day, so similar service disruptions are likely. Lufthansa, which last week welcomed an agreement with rival union Verdi that it said could be an alternative for pilots and cabin staff, had urged VC and UFO to use strikes sparingly, warning further action could worsen the airline’s finances and prompt deeper cost cuts or downsizing.
Lufthansa on Monday dismissed UFO’s pension demand as “absurd and unfulfillable.” CEO Carsten Spohr told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the airline will press ahead with restructuring and operate aircraft only where they “generate value.”
Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru