Status: 06.10.2022 02:17 am
At Eurowings, the pilots’ strike began last night. The union Vereinigung Cockpit has called for a day-long strike. The Lufthansa subsidiary expects around half of all flights to be cancelled.
Eurowings pilots went on a day-long strike last night. The industrial action began as planned, said a spokesman for the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union.
Eurowings assumes that a good half of the flights will be cancelled. On average, Eurowings operates around 500 flights a day, transporting 50,000 to 70,000 passengers to destinations in Germany and Europe.
Pilots want to reduce maximum flight duty times
VC is calling on the pilots of the Lufthansa subsidiary to go on strike after negotiations on a collective wage agreement failed. The union is in the conflict about better working conditions. A central requirement is the relief of employees, for example by reducing the maximum flight duty times.
Eurowings criticizes the strike as disproportionate and irresponsible. Passengers were asked to find out about the status of their flight on the website www.eurowings.com or via the Eurowings app.
German airports particularly affected
Eurowings expects that due to the industrial action on Thursday, just under half – 48.7 percent – of the flights can be operated. The main aircraft used are those of the Austrian subsidiary Eurowings Europe, which is not on strike, but also aircraft from partner airlines, which also normally carry out some of the Eurowings flights.
The situation is very different depending on the airport, said a company spokesman. Airports such as Mallorca, Stockholm or Prague, which are frequently served by Eurowings Europe, are less affected by flight cancellations. The German airports, on the other hand, are hit above average. According to the airport, 118 flights are likely to be canceled in Düsseldorf alone, the largest Eurowings location, while a further 60 are to take place. At Cologne-Bonn Airport, 61 of the 90 planned flights were canceled.