Pilots at Lufthansa and Eurowings are on strike in Germany: what we know
13 April 09:37
Pilots from Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Cargo AG, and Lufthansa CityLine GmbH began a strike at 12:01 a.m. local time (1:01 a.m. Kyiv time) on Monday, April 13. In addition, pilots from Eurowings GmbH, who operate flights from German airports, have joined the strike. The protests are being organized by the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union.
The airports in Frankfurt am Main and Munich have been most affected, according to the dpa news agency, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
The strike by Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Lufthansa Cargo AG, and Lufthansa CityLine GmbH will last until April 14 at 11:59 p.m. local time (April 15 at 12:59 a.m. Kyiv time), while the Eurowings GmbH strike will last until April 13 at 11:59 p.m. local time (April 14 at 12:59 a.m. Kyiv time).
Meanwhile, Eurowings suggested on April 12 that it would still be able to operate “most” of its schedule. The airline can also count on support from Eurowings Europe and partner airlines, the charter operator reported.
Passengers are advised to check the status of their flights with their airlines in advance.
A number of flights will not be affected by the instability in the Middle East
However, due to the ongoing instability in the Middle East, Lufthansa and CityLine pilots flying from Germany to Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.
Union demands
“The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) pilots’ union was forced to take this step after the employer failed to express a clear willingness to seek a resolution in several labor disputes. Despite a conscious decision to refrain from striking over Easter, no serious proposals were ever received. There was neither a response nor a clear willingness to negotiate on the part of management (Andreas Pinheiro).
Union representatives explained the call for a strike by noting that Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo have not yet submitted proposals regarding corporate pension plans. The situation is similar with CityLine’s proposals regarding the collective bargaining agreement with employees.
“Moreover, Eurowings’ proposal regarding corporate pension plans is unacceptable and so meager that it hardly deserves to be called a pension plan,” the VC noted.
Piener called the strike “a last resort, an attempt to salvage failed negotiations” and placed the blame for it on the employer. VC also called on its members to participate in a rally organized by the UFO flight attendants’ union, which will take place on April 15 in front of the Lufthansa office at Frankfurt am Main Airport.
Fourth wave of Lufthansa strikes
This is already the fourth wave of Lufthansa strikes since the beginning of the year.
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 an estimated 90,000 passengers.
Two rounds of pilot strikes had taken place earlier.
