Lufthansa flights are set to face major disruption on Thursday and Friday (12-13 March) after pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) called a short notice strike as part of an ongoing dispute over pensions.
VC has called the 48-hour strike, which will affect Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cityline flights, due to “failed negotiations” over a new collective agreement on pension schemes. A one-day strike last month forced the airline to cancel around 800 flights.
Lufthansa said in an update that it planned to run "more than" 50 per cent of its originally planned schedule over the two days, including 60 per cent of long-haul services.
The airline added that it would also use larger aircraft to accommodate more passengers on key routes on Thursday and Friday, while some services from Frankfurt and Munich will be operated by other airlines in the Lufthansa Group and by partner carriers.
Lufthansa Cityline is expected to be able to operate “almost its entire flight programme” on Friday, while another subsidiary Lufthansa City Airlines is due to run all scheduled services on Thursday and Friday.
The company added that it would contact travellers affected by flight cancellations or rebookings by email on Wednesday (11 March). Lufthansa said it expects to “largely return” to its regular flight schedule from Saturday (14 March) onwards.
Lufthansa condemned the timing of VC’s latest strike, with the airline industry struggling to cope with the impact of the ongoing war in the Middle East and the closure of airspace in many parts of the region.
Lufthansa executive board member Michael Niggemann, who is responsible for human resources and legal affairs, said: “This escalation is completely incomprehensible, especially at a time when we are experiencing a new level of geopolitical uncertainty with the war in Iran and passengers worldwide are affected.”
VC said in a statement that Lufthansa had not submitted a new offer on the pension situation since the union’s previous strike on 12 February, which has led to the latest walkout. The union added that its industrial action would not apply to Lufthansa’s flights to the Middle East.
Although, most of Lufthansa services to Middle Eastern destinations are still suspended, with the exception of flights to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Lufthansa’s routes to destinations such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman are currently cancelled until Sunday (15 March), according to its latest update.