A strike by pilots led to widespread Lufthansa flight cancellations on Thursday. From early morning, most Lufthansa connections were cancelled at airports in Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf. In Munich, however, most flights departed as scheduled. According to the pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), Lufthansa Cargo has also been affected. In addition, the Independent Flight Attendant Organisation (UFO) called cabin crew at Lufthansa CityLine to stage a warning strike on Thursday.
VC announced the industrial action at short notice on Tuesday evening. The dispute centers on company pension provisions. As early as September, VC members had voted by a large majority in favor of strike action. The union had subsequently sought further talks with company management.
"We would have very much liked to avoid an escalation," said VC head Andreas Pinheiro. "After the ballot at the end of September, we deliberately gave Lufthansa several months to reach a negotiable solution." However, the employer had once again failed to use this window of opportunity.
UFO justified its warning strike with the announced closure of Lufthansa CityLine’s flight operations and the absence of a social plan. The "very short-notice announcement" by the two unions "hits our passengers extremely hard and disproportionately," Lufthansa said, urging labor partners to return to the negotiating table. "Sustainable solutions can only be found through dialogue, strikes must always remain the last resort."
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