️ Pilots at Germany's flagship carrier Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, and subsidiary Eurowings began a 48-hour strike on Monday morning, organized by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) trade union. This marks the fourth strike to impact the airline this year, coming just days after cabin crew downed tools in a separate labor action.
️ The strike has led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights, with the major hubs of Frankfurt and Munich hardest hit. Frankfurt Airport, Germany's busiest, displayed most Lufthansa departures within Europe as canceled on Monday, with several domestic German flights replaced by rail services. The airport stated: "As a result of the strikes at Lufthansa by the pilots' trade union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC), there will be delays and cancellations for Lufthansa flights all day on April 13 and 14 at Frankfurt Airport."
️ The pilots' strike centers on pay disputes, including the company pension scheme and remuneration at the regional subsidiary CityLine. Lufthansa criticized VC's decision to strike, asserting that the union's core demand "for the doubling of an already above-average and excellent company pension plan is absurd and unfulfillable." In response, VC President Andreas Pinheiro said: "Vereinigung Cockpit sees itself as forced into this step, after the employer showed no recognizable willingness for a solution in several wage disputes. Despite consciously refraining from strike action over the Easter bank holidays, offers worth taking seriously are still not forthcoming."
️ Eurowings pilots are striking only on Monday, not Tuesday, while Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots with the Cockpit union have been called to strike for two days. Eurowings said on Sunday it expected to keep "a large part" of services operational despite the strike. VC announced it would not strike on flights to Middle Eastern destinations, citing travel uncertainty from the ongoing conflict in Iran and the wider region, exempting routes to Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
️ Lufthansa stated on its website that it is working intensively to minimize passenger impact, attempting to have as many flights as possible operated by other airlines within the Lufthansa Group and partner airlines. It also advised passengers with canceled flights to exchange tickets for Deutsche Bahn rail tickets. Not all pilots at Lufthansa's airlines are VC members, and full participation in the strike is not guaranteed.
Source: www.dw.com