Lufthansa pilots are to hold an eight-hour strike on Tuesday (September 16) – the fourth strike by the German airline’s pilots within three weeks.
The latest industrial action will run from 0900 – 1700 local time, the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union said.
The walkout means there will be no long-haul flights from Lufthansa's main hub Frankfurt impacting flights on Airbus A380, A330 and A340 planes, and Boeing B747s.
The strike is over plans to change the current early-retirement scheme in which pilots retire at 55 and retain up to 60 per cent of their pay until they reach the state pension age of 60.
VC said as Lufthansa management has “presented no compromise or competitive offer” it has been “forced” to take these measures.
Lufthansa said the latest decision to walk-out was a disproportionate response, and that it hoped to begin discussions with VC “as quickly as possible”.
A strike earlier this month at Lufthansa’s budget airline Germanwings caused 116 flights to be cancelled and affected 15,000 passengers. The airline said it suffered “significant” financial losses due to the action.
Lufthansa.com