Lufthansa strike causes 1,300 cancellations this week, including many U.S. flights
Lufthansa flight attendants are going on strike this week, and as a result Germany's flag carrier will be canceling 1,300 flights on Thursday Nov. 7 and Friday Nov. 8. Airline strikes are more common in Europe than they are in the U.S., and many of the continent's major airline have dealt with strikes this year.
Even though the vast majority of Lufthansa's route network involves places other than the U.S., this particular strike will have a painful effect on U.S.-based travelers. We searched all Lufthansa flights to North America and found that at the time of publishing, the following flights from Lufthansa's Frankfurt (FRA) hub have been canceled on Thursday and Friday:
- Boston (BOS)
- Chicago (ORD)
- Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW) -- Thursday only
- Detroit (DTW)
- Houston (IAH)
- Miami (MIA) -- Thursday only
- San Diego (SAN) -- Friday only
- San Francisco (SFO) -- Thursday only
- Seattle (SEA)
From Munich (MUC), both Los Angeles (LAX) and Miami seem to be affected as of now. If you have a flight on Thursday or Friday, you'll definitely want to keep a close eye on your flight status.
As One Mile at a Time notes, Lufthansa's website is struggling to keep up with flight status searches right now. The airline is offering a liberal return policy, but under normal circumstances hold times with Lufthansa can be cumbersome, so you may struggle to reach them via phone or rebook a flight on the website. Even if your flight hasn't been canceled yet, Lufthansa is offering ways to avoid the strike:
Even if your flight has not been canceled but you prefer a different date, we also offer you a free rebooking in case of
- You are booked on a Lufthansa flight to or from Frankfurt or Munich with departure on 7 or 8 November.
- Your ticket was issued on and before 4 November.
You can rebook your flight for the same route to a new date up to and including 15 November (date of departure). Subject to availability in the same class.
It's important to be prepared when dealing with flight delays and cancellations. Last-minute changes can and do happen frequently. Make sure you know how not to get stuck in the airport for days on end.
It's also important to double check what credit card you booked your trip with. While Citi has ended trip cancellation protection across its portfolio of credit cards, you should still be able to file a claim if you purchased your ticket prior to September 22, 2019, when coverage ended. There are still a host of cards that offer this sort of protection, and American Express is joining this group in the near future. Check out our list to see if the card you used might provide you some protection.
Edward Pizzarello covers family travel for TPG Family and also blogs at Pizza in Motion. You can find him podcasting at Miles to Go and eating doughnuts on Twitter and Instagram.
