Due to a cabin crew strike at Lufthansa, numerous flights were canceled on Friday. According to estimates from the Independent Flight Attendants Organization (UFO), which called for the strike, only a handful of aircraft departed. The company stated in response to inquiries that it was able to offer "more than a third of the originally planned flight program of Lufthansa Airlines."
The strike began early in the morning and was scheduled to last until 10:00 PM Friday evening. All departures from the hubs in Frankfurt am Main and Munich were affected for the core Lufthansa brand, and at subsidiary Cityline, departures from nine airports across Germany were impacted.
Lufthansa had announced additional flights from subsidiary companies and planned to deploy larger aircraft to limit the consequences of the strike. The Lufthansa Group did not provide more specific information on Friday regarding the number of canceled flights and affected passengers. A company spokesperson explained that the actual third of the flight program offered refers to Lufthansa Airlines - which includes Lufthansa Classic and Lufthansa Cityline as well as Lufthansa City Airlines, Air Dolomiti, and Discover Airlines.
UFO's chief negotiator and head of collective bargaining Harry Jaeger anticipated significant impacts from the strike. The strike participation was "gigantic," Jaeger told the AFP news agency. According to his assessment, "only isolated flights" were departing. He estimated approximately 90 percent cancellations at the affected airlines.
A spokesperson for airport operator Fraport provided figures for the entire flight operations of all airlines in Frankfurt upon AFP's request. Out of approximately 1,350 planned flight movements, around 580 flights had already been canceled by late morning. This corresponds to approximately 72,000 passengers.
Munich Airport took a similar approach: a total of 940 flight movements had been planned for Friday, roughly half departures and half arrivals. "Of these, the airlines canceled a good 400," a spokesperson explained.
"We expect to be able to offer largely the complete flight program again on Saturday, although isolated flight cancellations and delays may still occur," Lufthansa stated. Flight passengers would be actively notified by email if their flight is affected. The company asked travelers to keep their contact information current and to check flight status online or via app.
UFO is using the labor dispute to pressure negotiations for a new framework collective agreement at Lufthansa, demanding work-time relief for the approximately 18,000 stewards and stewardesses. At Cityline, the issue concerns a social plan for the approximately 800 flight attendants; the airline is scheduled to be shut down next year.
UFO chairman Joachim Vázquez Bürger stated that the union "deliberately exempted the Easter holidays from labor action measures to keep the impact on travelers as minimal as possible." "We are very aware that disruptions may now occur for those returning from vacation, and we expressly regret this." He assigned responsibility to Lufthansa, "which has not even managed to present a negotiable offer so far."
Lufthansa board member Michael Niggemann, however, described the strike as "irresponsible." The work stoppage hits "passengers particularly hard in the middle of return travel at the end of the Easter holidays," he stated. UFO has "quickly escalated" instead of engaging seriously in negotiations on Lufthansa's proposals.
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