Lufthansa cabin crew in Frankfurt have been on strike since early this morning, with around 600 flights canceled today. Tomorrow the strike will hit Munich Airport. According to Lufthansa, a total of 120,000 passengers are affected.
Following the warning strikes among ground staff organized by the ver.di union last week, flight attendants from Lufthansa and the regional subsidiary Lufthansa Cityline went on strike this morning. The strike at Frankfurt Airport is expected to last until 11 p.m.
Lufthansa assumes that 600 flights in Frankfurt will be canceled today, affecting 70,000 passengers. The flight attendant union UFO has called on Lufthansa cabin crew at Munich Airport to go on strike this Wednesday – also from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. According to Lufthansa’s estimates, 400 flights with 50,000 passengers will not be able to take off there. A total of 120,000 passengers are likely to be affected on both days.
The strike also affects the north. All twelve flights from Hamburg to Frankfurt will be canceled on Tuesday, as Hamburg Airport announced on its website. The twelve arrivals from Frankfurt have also been canceled.
More flights between Frankfurt and Munich
In order to offer passengers alternatives on the two days of the strike, Lufthansa has, according to a spokesman, expanded its offering on the route between Frankfurt and Munich at short notice. After the strikes end, some passengers will still have to expect delays and flight cancellations.
According to the websites of Munich and Frankfurt airports, passengers should contact Lufthansa to find out about flight cancellations. The flight status is updated regularly on the airport’s website.
15 percent more wages
UFO is essentially demanding 15 percent more money for Lufthansa’s approximately 18,000 cabin employees and the almost 1,000 Cityline employees over a contract period of 18 months. The union also wants to achieve an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros and higher allowances.
The union emphasized that the group had just announced a record result of almost 1.7 billion euros in net profit last Thursday – the third best in the company’s history. “The cabin must now also be involved in this success and the concessions made during the Corona crisis must be sufficiently compensated,” said Joachim Vázquez Bürger, UFO board chairman.
Negotiations are scheduled to continue on Wednesday
According to its own information, Lufthansa has offered an increase in tariff salaries of 6.0 percent for August 2024 and a further 3.25 percent for August 2025 over a period of 24 months. In addition, cabin employees should receive an inflation compensation bonus of 3,000 euros in April 2024.
“I also understand our employees, the colleagues in the cabin are doing a great job, no question about it. But the strike is the wrong approach,” said Human Resources Director Michael Niggemann. “We will negotiate with ver.di tomorrow and the day after; we have presented what we believe to be a good offer.”
Lufthansa is currently in several conflicts with unions and is on massive strikes, most recently among ground staff by ver.di. The strike costs have totaled 100 million euros so far this year, as the company explained at the annual press conference last week. In addition, there are several hundred million euros in sales that were lost because travelers booked with other airlines, it was said.