Hundreds of flights of German airline Lufthansa canceled due to strike by pilots and flight attendants

Germany's largest airline, Lufthansa, canceled hundreds of flights on Thursday due to a strike by pilots and cabin crew, causing widespread disruptions to air travel and affecting the plans of approximately 100,000 passengers. Reuters reports, as conveyed by UNN.

Details

According to the company, nearly 800 flights were canceled due to industrial action. The strike is related to demands for pension provisions and other labor claims by staff. Lufthansa stated that the situation "is having an extremely severe and disproportionate impact on passengers," while also expecting that the flight schedule will largely normalize by Friday.

Departure boards at the country's largest airports, Frankfurt and Munich, showed mass cancellations of Lufthansa flights, including long-haul routes. On Thursday morning, the situation at Frankfurt Airport remained relatively calm, as most passengers had been notified of the cancellations in advance and did not arrive at the terminals.

The airline stated that it would try to rebook passengers on flights with its subsidiary or partner airlines. At the same time, passengers expressed concerns about possible new strikes and their impact on air travel costs.

The strike was organized by the pilots' union VC and the cabin crew union UFO. The action coincided with the start of the Berlin International Film Festival and on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, which traditionally gathers politicians and military officials from around the world.

Pilots are in conflict with the main airline Lufthansa and its cargo division over pension provisions. The union announced its readiness for strikes after a vote last year, as negotiations with management yielded no results. Lufthansa, for its part, states that the company does not have the financial means to meet the unions' demands.

Separately, the UFO union called for a strike by employees of Lufthansa CityLine, a subsidiary, due to plans to cease its flight operations and the employer's refusal to negotiate a social package.

Recall

Spanish train drivers recently held a three-day strike over unsatisfactory safety conditions after two fatal accidents in January. The action by the Semaf union led to disruptions in train services.