Lufthansa pilots are going on strike again: what are their demands?
15 April 10:12
The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union announced on Tuesday, April 14, that it plans to hold another strike. According to a press release from the union, the strike will take place from 12:01 a.m. on April 16 to 11:59 p.m. on April 17 local time (from 1:01 a.m. on April 16 to 12:59 a.m. on April 18 Kyiv time) and will affect pilots of Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Lufthansa Cargo operating on flights departing from German airports, reports "Komersant Ukrainian".
The Eurowings GmbH pilots’ strike will end on April 16 at 11:59 p.m. local time (April 17 at 12:59 a.m. Kyiv time).
It is noted that, given the situation in the Middle East, the strike will not affect flights operated by Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Lufthansa CityLine from Germany to the following destinations: Azerbaijan, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
The union states that there has been no progress
“The situation remains unchanged—there has been no progress on the part of the employers. Neither Lufthansa nor Lufthansa Cargo has made an offer regarding a corporate pension plan; Lufthansa CityLine has not made an acceptable offer regarding a new collective bargaining agreement with employees; and Eurowings has not made an offer regarding a corporate pension plan,” stated VC Chairman Andreas Pinn.
Given the lack of compromise, Vereinigung Cockpit is proposing a mandatory arbitration procedure to employers to resolve collective disputes.
“For us, this is not about political disputes over who has more power, nor is it about selfishness, but about acceptable solutions. If employers agree to the mediation proposal, the union will shortly submit the names of suitable mediators,” the press release states.
Sixth strike at Lufthansa since the start of 2026
The expected strike at Lufthansa will be the sixth since the start of 2026. The last strike by pilots of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Cargo AG, and Lufthansa CityLine GmbH lasted from April 13 at 12:01 a.m. local time (1:01 a.m. Kyiv time) until April 14 at 11:59 p.m. local time (April 15 at 12:59 a.m. Kyiv time), and at Eurowings (April 14 at 00:59 Kyiv time).
On April 13, the German flight attendants’ union UFO called on employees of Lufthansa and its regional subsidiary Lufthansa CityLine to stage another two-day strike immediately following the conclusion of a similar protest by the carrier’s pilots on April 14. The strike is scheduled for April 15–16.
Prior to this, on April 10, Lufthansa flight attendants went on strike. According to estimates by the Association of German Airports (ADV), this could have resulted in the cancellation of over 520 flights, affecting approximately 90,000 passengers. Two rounds of pilot strikes had taken place earlier.
