Status: 09/02/2022 07:25 a.m
The Lufthansa pilots’ strike has been going on since midnight. More than 800 flights have been cancelled. Passengers should switch to trains or the weekend.
Lufthansa pilots went on a day-long strike. The walkout officially began at one minute after midnight, and the first planned connections in Frankfurt am Main and Munich were canceled in the morning hours.
The airline has canceled almost the entire program of the core company. Around 130,000 passengers from more than 800 flights are affected. According to Lufthansa, some flights had to be canceled on Thursday.
Passengers are asked not to come to the airports, but to switch to the train or flights on another day. You are entitled to refunds and possibly compensation payments in the event of cancellations or serious delays. As the last holiday weekend begins in Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, many families with school-age children will also be affected.
Subsidiaries should fly
According to the Vereinigung Cockpit union, only the departures of the Lufthansa core company and Lufthansa Cargo from German airports are on strike. The subsidiaries Eurowings, Lufthansa Cityline and Eurowings Discover are not affected by the call and are scheduled to fly.
The same applies to foreign Lufthansa subsidiaries such as Swiss, Austrian or Brussels. Lufthansa flights from non-German starting points also take place, provided that aircraft and crews are already abroad.
According to Lufthansa, there may also be occasional cancellations and delays at the weekend. Passengers are asked to keep themselves informed at www.lufthansa.com.
Union demands better offer
The Cockpit Association (VC) sees the negotiations on higher wages as having failed. “In order to avert labor disputes, Lufthansa must present a significantly improved offer,” said VC tariff boss Marcel Gröls. The official reason for the industrial action is the failed negotiations on a new collective wage agreement from the point of view of the trade union. The VC demands 5.5 percent more wages in the current year and an automated adjustment for inflation from the coming year.
Even an exploratory round behind closed doors and an improved offer from the company last week had not brought a breakthrough.
The company criticized the strike call by the pilots’ union. “We have absolutely no understanding of VC’s call for a strike,” HR director Michael Niggemann said on Thursday. “The employer side has made a very good and socially balanced offer – despite the lingering effects of the Corona crisis and uncertain prospects for the global economy.”