For the fourth day in a row: Lufthansa crews are still on strike
16 April 15:19
The strike by crews of the German airline Lufthansa is now in its fourth consecutive day. The simultaneous strike by pilots and flight attendants on Thursday, April 16, led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights operated by Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, and its regional subsidiary CityLine, according to "Komersant Ukrainian", citing DW.
Most of the canceled flights are at Frankfurt and Munich airports
At Frankfurt am Main Airport alone, according to Fraport, the airport operator, 656 flights were canceled out of 1,313 scheduled takeoffs and landings. A similar situation is unfolding at Lufthansa’s second German hub—Munich Airport. According to the UFO union, the flight attendants’ strike is affecting all Lufthansa departures from Frankfurt and Munich airports, as well as all CityLine flights from Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Bremen, Hanover, Stuttgart, Cologne, Düsseldorf, and Berlin.
The low-cost carrier Eurowings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, is also affected by the strike, but only on April 16. Lufthansa flight cancellations and delays have been occurring since April 13 and will continue at least until the evening of April 17: flight attendants are striking on Wednesday and Thursday, and the airline’s pilots on Thursday and Friday.
Conflict over a new collective bargaining agreement
The protest was triggered by the breakdown of negotiations between Lufthansa and the unions regarding a collective bargaining agreement for pilots. Both sides blame each other for the breakdown of negotiations. According to Andreas Pineiro, head of the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union, the airline rejected VC’s proposal and failed to put forward “any options acceptable for negotiation.”
The wave of strikes at Lufthansa is now in its second week, with pilots and flight attendants taking turns to protest. Pilots are demanding better pension benefits, while flight attendants are calling for improved working conditions and the development of a social plan for CityLine, which is slated for gradual closure.
Amid a major series of staff protests, celebrations marking Lufthansa’s 100th anniversary took place on April 15.
