The pilots union for Lufthansa—Europe’s biggest aviation group—on Saturday called for a two day strike in Germany, starting Monday.
The latest strike—called by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union over a salary and pensions dispute—marks the fifth strike Lufthansa has been hit by this year.
“The Cockpit union feels compelled to take this step after the employers’ side showed no real willingness to reach a solution in several collective bargaining disputes,” VC President Andreas Pinheiro was quoted as saying by Reuters.
What to know about the strike
The latest two-day strike will hit flights run by the main airline Lufthansa, and its subsidiaries CityLine and Eurowings. It will also affect Lufthansa Cargo.
Pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine have been asked to strike from April 13, 0001 CET (2201 GMT) to April 14, 2359 CET (2159 GMT), the union said. Pilots at Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings have also been asked to strike on April 13 from 0001-2359 CET, the union said.
However, the VC union said that given the situation in the Middle East, where US-Iran talks have failed, flights to certain destinations will not be impacted.
These include flights to destinations in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, VC union said.
What are flyers saying?
Users on social media seemed to indicate that services were largely running fine, with some pointing out issues in rescheduling flights.
“Flights canceled & rebooked. All OK. What can I do about the extra charges incurred by this change? UK ETA for example (sic),” wrote one user on X.
“I’ve tried several times but something keeps block the rebooking of my flight because of the strike and I can’t speak to no human – I need help as I’m flying tomorrow please (sic),” wrote another.
Others, meanwhile, criticized the unions for not taking into account customers’ needs.
“I’ve been flying with Lufthansa for many years – out of loyalty to a traditional German company. Lately, however, I’m starting to doubt that decision. The way the employees push their interests without regard for customers! The lack of a service mindset!,” wrote a user on X.
What happens next?
It seems that the union and the aviation group are at an impasse, with VC chief Pinheiro saying, “Despite our deliberate decision not to take strike action over the Easter holidays, no serious offers have been made.”
Lufthansa, for its part, reportedly said in a statement that the VC union’s announcement of the strike marked a “completely new level of escalation”, adding that the group’s demand to “double an already above-average and excellent company pension scheme is absurd and unachievable”.
Hundreds of flights cancelled on Friday
Saturday’s call for yet another strike comes after cabin crew at Lufthansa walked off of their jobs on Friday, amid a strike called by the UFO union.
Around 20,000 flight attendants at the German flag carrier were called to join the strike which went on till 10 pm on Friday, local time.
As a result, Lufthansa in advance, with schedules being impacted in hubs such as Munich, Frankfurt, as well as Berlin, Stuttgart, and Leipzig/Halle.
In Frankfurt alone, nearly 75% of some 350 scheduled Lufthansa departures were cancelled on Friday, reported DW.
