Lufthansa is having to cancel almost all flights at its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich on Wednesday (27 July) due to a one-day strike by members of the ver.di union.
The union has called the “warning” strike affecting around 20,000 of Lufthansa’s ground workers in an ongoing dispute over pay.
The airline said the strike would cause a “massive operational impact in the middle of the peak travel season”, with 678 flights being cancelled to and from Frankfurt, affecting 92,000 passengers, and 345 services axed at Munich, impacting another 42,000 travellers.
Lufthansa also warned that the impact of the strike could lead to individual flight cancellations or delays on Thursday and Friday.
Passengers affected by cancellations will be informed immediately today and rebooked on alternative flights if possible. However, the capacities available for this are very limited.
Michael Niggemann, Lufthansa’s chief human resources officer, said the escalation of the dispute with ver.di was “causing enormous damages” and the one-day strike was “no longer proportionate”.
“It affects our passengers in particular, who are impacted during the peak travel season, and it is putting an additional heavy strain on our employees in an already difficult phase for air traffic,” he said.
Niggemann added that ver.di members had been offered “substantial” pay increases over the next 12 months.