Hundreds of Lufthansa flights canceled due to pilot strike. Flight attendants announce another similar protest
Half of Lufthansa's long-haul and two-thirds of its short-haul flights were canceled on Monday in the first of two days of strike action by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union over pay and pensions, according to the announcement made by the German company, AFP wrote.
The VC said at midday on Monday that more than 700 flights had been cancelled, in a statement saying it was “ready for talks at any time” as long as there were “realistic offers” from the authorities.
Also on Monday, Lufthansa cabin crew announced plans to stage their own two-day strike on Wednesday and Thursday. The UFO union said that “all Lufthansa group departures from Frankfurt and Munich airports”, the airline's main hubs, would be affected.
The flight attendants' strike also affects the departures of Lufthansa's regional Cityline subsidiaries from seven other airports.
UFO had also staged a one-day strike on Friday, when the union's chief negotiator, Harry Jagger, told AFP that the industrial action had forced the aviation giant to cancel around 90% of the two brands' flights.
Lufthansa on strike calls: “Painful”
On Monday, Lufthansa representatives described the strike calls as “painful” and accused flight attendants' union members of being “completely indifferent to the fate of our passengers and the future of Lufthansa”.
Instead, Jagger said Friday's strike showed “how determined they are to defend their working conditions”.
UFO claims that not enough progress has been made on issues such as “avoidance of overwork” and the extension of notice periods.
This week's strike is not the first protest action for Lufthansa pilots either. On Saturday, a company spokesman said union demands for pay and pension increases were “absurd and unfeasible”.
On the other hand, the president of the VC union, Andreas Pinheiro, accused the company of “not showing any tangible willingness to find a solution during several rounds of negotiations”.
“Although we deliberately refrained from any strike during the Easter holidays, no serious proposal was made,” he added.
