Lufthansa pilots begin 48-hour strike

Many flights have been cancelled at German airports on Monday as Lufthansa pilots have begun a new strike shortly after midnight.

Germany’s pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) has called for work stoppages at Lufthansa and several of its subsidiaries through Tuesday as a result of labor disputes over the company pension plan, working conditions, and compensation at the regional subsidiary Cityline.

The strike by pilots at the core brand Deutsche Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, and Cityline began shortly after midnight and is scheduled to end shortly before midnight on Tuesday.

At the holiday airline Eurowings, only all departures from German airports are affected on Monday.

At the larger German airports, several flights to and from Frankfurt and to and from Munich were cancelled due to the 48-hour pilots strike, as several airports reported. The pilots union VC expects hundreds of flights per day to be called off.

On Sunday, Eurowings anticipated being able to operate “a large portion” of its flight schedule. In addition to Eurowings Europe, the airline can also count on support from partner airlines, the holiday carrier announced.

This marks the fourth wave of strikes at Lufthansa this year. Just recently, strikes by cabin crew led to many flight cancellations at Germany’s largest airline.

The current strike by the Cockpit union is driven by labor disputes over the company pension plan and compensation at the regional subsidiary Cityline.

The pilots union said several routes would be exempt from the strike due to geopolitical tensions and humanitarian considerations. Flights to Egypt, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE will continue to operate.

Union President Andreas Pinheiro said the union wanted to avoid escalating tensions but accused Lufthansa of failing to present a concrete proposal.

“It doesn’t help if the other side only signals a willingness to talk but doesn’t want to discuss substantial improvements to the company pension scheme,” said Pinheiro.

Meanwhile, Arne Karstens, spokesperson for the union’s collective bargaining committee, said seven rounds of negotiations and mediation attempts had failed, and that talks would not resume until Lufthansa presents a “negotiable offer.”