Long-haul passengers departing from Germany tomorrow could face disruption after Lufthansa pilots announced a day-long strike.
Union group Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), which represents around 5,000 pilots at the German company, said the strike will start at 06:00 GMT and last until 22:00 GMT on Tuesday September 8. The strike will only affect long-haul and cargo services.
The action aims to increase pressure on senior management in a long-running dispute over pay, retirement benefits and cost cuts.
Pilots went on strike more than 10 times last year over Lufthansa’s plans to phase out its early retirement scheme that currently sees pilots retire at 55 and retain around 60% of their pay until they reach the state pension age.
According to Reuters the union has offered concessions, including increasing the average retirement age to 60 and looking at ways to bring costs down to a level comparable with Easyjet.
"With our offer, we made it clear that the pilots are not against the necessary adjustments," VC spokesman Markus Wahl said in a statement.
A spokesman for Lufthansa said it was confident of helping passengers to complete "a majority" of long-haul flights planned for Tuesday, either booking them onto other group airlines or different carriers.