Frankfurt: A two-day strike by pilots at German airline Lufthansa began on Monday, causing major disruption for travellers as a dispute over pay heated up. More than 1,100 take-offs and landings in Frankfurt, Lufthansa's main hub and Germany's biggest airport, were cancelled across Monday and Tuesday, with 710 flights scrapped in Munich. The walkout by pilots at Lufthansa's core brand, as well as Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine, began shortly after midnight on Monday and will last for 48 hours.
According to Ghana News Agency, the strike marks the fourth wave of industrial action at the group this year. Last week, a one-day cabin crew walkout forced hundreds of cancellations at Germany's largest airline. The pilots' strike, organized by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union, centres on pay disputes, including the company pension scheme and remuneration at the regional subsidiary CityLine.
Lufthansa criticized the strike notice, saying it represented a new level of escalation while describing the union demands as 'absurd and unworkable.' Each day of industrial action weakens the airline, said Lufthansa executive board member Michael Niggemann on Monday. He warned that the core Lufthansa airline is already no longer competitive on many routes, meaning that costs cannot be raised further.
While the Lufthansa core brand is responsible for the lion's share of the Group's operations, it is the least profitable among its airlines, due to high salaries and inflexible rosters, according to Executive Board. To bring down costs, Lufthansa has spun off some of its operations into subsidiaries Discover and City Airlines, where wages are negotiated by different unions. Lufthansa will continue to stick to its strategy and only deploy aircraft on routes that are profitable, meaning subsidiaries outside the core brand are set to grow, according to Niggemann. 'These strikes will not affect our strategy,' he added.
But labour representatives for cabin crew made no sign of backing down, instead calling a rally for Wednesday, when Lufthansa marks 100 years since its founding. The pilot's union also called on members to join the protest outside a new visitors centre at Frankfurt Airport, where German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to attend festivities. Union leader Andreas Pinheiro said Lufthansa was responsible for the latest strikes, slamming the company for failing to make another offer even though the strikes had been deliberately scheduled for after the Easter holiday, one of the busiest periods for travel of the year. 'During this period, there was neither a response nor any discernible willingness to engage in dialogue on the part of the employers,' he said.
Despite the industrial actions, around half of Lufthansa's planned long-haul flights were scheduled to lift off on Monday, alongside about a third of medium- and short-haul flights, Niggemann said. About three out of four flights operated by other Lufthansa-owned carriers including SWISS and Brussels Airlines are expected to be on schedule, he added. Flights to selected Middle Eastern destinations have been excluded from the strike action. About 40% of flights operated by holiday airline Eurowings were expected to be affected.