Germany’s flagship carrier, Lufthansa, faced widespread disruption after a strike by cabin crew led to the cancellation of a large number of flights, according to information published on the airline’s official website.
The union representing crew at the Lufthansa Group said the walkout resulted in about 90 per cent of flights being cancelled at two of its airlines.
The chief negotiator for the UFO union, Harry Jaeger, told AFP that “almost all” flights of the Lufthansa brand and the CityLine subsidiary were cancelled.
Participation in the strike had been “enormous”, Jaeger said, as the union pushed for improvements in working conditions.
The industrial action focused on issues such as “avoiding overwork” and extending redundancy notice periods,
which the union said had not seen sufficient progress in negotiations.
Lufthansa stated that “more than a third of flights of Lufthansa Airlines” were still operating, though the figure included services run under brands that were not directly affected by the strike, including Austrian Airlines and Eurowings.
HUNDREDS OF FLIGHTS GROUNDED AT MAJOR AIRPORTS
The scale of the disruption was visible at major transport hubs across Germany.
A spokeswoman for Frankfurt Airport was quoted as saying that “around 580” flights had been cancelled, including some cancellations by other airlines for separate reasons.
At Munich Airport, about 400 flights were cancelled.
The strike came during a key travel period as Easter holidays were drawing to a close in most German regions, adding to the impact on passengers attempting to return home.
Lufthansa said it expected to operate “virtually a full number of flights” the following day but cautioned that “some isolated cancellations and delays are possible”.
According to an AFP, the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit called for a two-day strike beginning Monday amid an ongoing dispute over salaries and pensions.
The strike is expected to affect flights operated by Lufthansa’s main airline as well as subsidiaries CityLine and Eurowings, and will also impact Lufthansa Cargo operations.
The union said the action follows limited progress in negotiations on pay and retirement benefits.
However, it added that flights to certain Middle East destinations would not be affected due to the situation in the region.
These include Azerbaijan, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
SERIES OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS DISRUPT OPERATIONS
The strike marked the fourth industrial action affecting Lufthansa this year, reflecting continuing friction between the airline and labour unions.
Earlier, on February 12, nearly 800 Lufthansa flights were cancelled, affecting around 1,00,000 passengers when pilots and cabin crew staged a strike linked to pension issues.
A subsequent two-day pilots’ strike in March grounded about half of the airline’s flights.
Lufthansa has urged unions to resume talks, stating that “only dialogue” can lead to “lasting solutions”.
