Lufthansa wants to operate up to 20 percent of flights on Wednesday despite the warning strike

Air travelers have to prepare for delays at Lufthansa on Wednesday – including at BER Airport. This also affects Lufthansa’s subsidiaries – including Eurowings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines.

The The Verdi union has called on Lufthansa ground staff to go on an all-day warning strike, a Verdi spokesman announced early on Monday morning. The locations Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf are also affected. According to Verdi, the strike should start on Wednesday at 4 a.m. and last until Thursday at 7:10 a.m.

Lufthansa wants to operate 10 to 20 percent of flights despite the planned warning strike. The airline announced on Monday afternoon that it would be able to offer 100 to 200 connections out of around 1,000 planned flights. These include flights to and from Frankfurt and Munich, both intercontinental connections and European flights.

The company spoke of more than 100,000 affected passengers who will have to change their plans. They should have been informed about cancellations and rebooking options by email or app since Monday afternoon. Anyone who has booked a flight with Lufthansa on Wednesday or Thursday should go to the Company website further information, the details should be entered there.

For the day of the warning strike at Lufthansa on Wednesday, 46 airline flights are also planned at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport. The flight schedule includes 23 departures and arrivals to and from Frankfurt or Munich, as a BER spokesman said on Monday. Since Lufthansa is concentrating its offer on Wednesday on European and intercontinental flights, these domestic German connections are likely to be canceled.

In addition to BER, the Lufthansa locations in Frankfurt am Main, Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf will be on strike on Wednesday, as Verdi announced. The warning strike is scheduled to begin on Wednesday at 4 a.m. and last until Thursday at 7:10 a.m. According to Verdi, only Lufthansa companies will be on Wednesday. Specifically named: Deutsche Lufthansa, Lufthansa Technik, Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services and Lufthansa Engineering and Operational Services.

The background for the warning strike is the ongoing collective bargaining for the approximately 25,000 employees at counters, in aircraft handling and in freight operations.

The union is demanding 12.5 percent more salary for employees, but at least 500 euros per month. According to Verdi, the first two negotiation dates ended without an offer from Lufthansa. According to Verdi, the sticking points were the increase increments, which were perceived as being too low, and the 36-month term.

The company sharply criticized the union’s actions: “Even before the actual negotiations have begun, the length and extent of the strike are completely incomprehensible,” it said in the statement. Lufthansa’s human resources director, Michael Niggemann, said that the employers had already submitted a concrete offer, which included, among other things, further increases in remuneration and additional benefits totaling over 13 percent over the next three years as well as an inflation compensation bonus. The next hearing is scheduled for February 12th.

It wasn’t until February 1st that Flight staff in Germany went on strike all day, and BER airport was also affected.

Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, February 5th, 2024, 6:29 a.m