Lufthansa cancels more than 500 flights following strike disruption
Editor's Note
Lufthansa has once again faced major disruptions after ground staff staged a mass walkout at five German airports.
The 27-hour strike, which began at 4 a.m. local time Feb. 7, is due to last until 7:10 a.m. on Feb. 8. It involves Lufthansa ground employees, represented by the Vereinigte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft union.
The strike is affecting Lufthansa flights at Frankfurt Airport (FRA), Munich Airport (MUC), Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) and Dusseldorf Airport (DUS) and follows a mass walkout that took place last week.
According to FlightAware, Lufthansa has canceled more than 500 flights scheduled for departure. Reports suggest the airline will operate only 10% to 20% of its planned flights.
The Berlin and Hamburg airports, in particular, have been badly affected by the strikes; they have been forced to cancel all Lufthansa departures for the day.
Affected passengers are able to rebook their flights for free or convert their tickets into rail vouchers if flying domestically within Germany.
"Due to the warning strike called by the trade union Verdi on Wednesday and Thursday ... extensive effects on the flight program are expected during this period," Lufthansa said in a statement on X earlier this week. "Affected guests will receive initial information by email or in the app from around 4 p.m. today."
The Ver.di union is currently embroiled in collective bargaining for around 25,000 Lufthansa employees. It's seeking a wage increase of 12.5% to offset inflation, alongside increased bonuses and overtime pay.
This strike comes following a breakdown in negotiations with Lufthansa.
"This strike would be unnecessary if Lufthansa were to grant ground employees the same increases as other employee groups in the group. However, there was no willingness to do this at the negotiating table," Ver.di negotiator Marvin Reschinsky said in a statement.
The union claims that affected staff are currently around 10% worse off than they were three years ago, and it has warned that longer strikes could be on the horizon if a deal is not met.
The next round of negotiations will take place Feb. 12.
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