Another strike at Lufthansa!
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
While international air traffic is already under pressure due to the tense situation in the Middle East and the restrictions surrounding Iran, the next labor dispute at Germany's largest airline is now creating further uncertainty in the travel industry.
The pilots' union Vereinigung Cockpit has called on its members to go on a 48-hour strike. Thousands of pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and, for the first time, Lufthansa Cityline are expected to walk out on Thursday and Friday.
The strike will begin at 00:01 on Thursday and end at 23:59 on Friday. Flights from German airports will be primarily affected. This will again mean significant disruption for travellers. During the last strike in February, more than 800 flights were cancelled, affecting around 100,000 passengers.
The timing could hardly be worse for European air traffic. Due to the tense security situation in the Middle East and the consequences of the Iran conflict, airlines have already been forced to adjust numerous routes, make detours or cancel flights. In this already fragile situation, another strike at one of Europe's largest airlines will only worsen air traffic conditions further.
The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from Lufthansa, which calls it a disproportionate step and points to the strike's very short notice. It intends to try to have as many flights as possible operated by other airlines within the Lufthansa group and will automatically inform affected passengers.
The conflict stems from a dispute over the pilots' company pension scheme. After several rounds of negotiations, the union sees insufficient progress. For many travellers, however, the prevailing impression is still that Lufthansa strikes are a regular occurrence. One cannot help but wonder when flight operations will finally be able to continue for a longer period without another strike.
