More than 1,000 Lufthansa flights canceled due to workers’ strike

More than 1,000 Lufthansa flights were canceled on Wednesday due to a one-day strike by the German airline’s ground staff, affecting tens of thousands of passengers in the latest bout of transport problems in Europe.

Around 134,000 passengers had to change their travel plans or cancel them. At least 47 connections had already been canceled by Tuesday, the German news agency dpa reported.

Lufthansa’s main hubs in Frankfurt and Munich were the hardest hit, but flights in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Berlin, Bremen, Hannover, Stuttgart and Cologne were also cancelled.

The airline advised affected passengers not to go to airports as most counters would be unattended.

The workers’ union ver.di announced the strike on Monday as it tries to increase pressure on Lufthansa in wage negotiations for some 20,000 employees at its logistics, technical and cargo subsidiaries.

The strike comes at a time when airports in Germany and Europe are experiencing disruptions and long lines at security checkpoints due to staff shortages and rising travel demand.

As inflation soars, strikes by airline staff in France and by Scandinavian Airlines pilots in Sweden, Norway and Denmark for higher wages have added to the chaos for travelers, who have faced cancellations of flights. last minute, long delays, lost luggage and long waits for your bags at airports across Europe.

Travel is surging to coincide with the summer holiday season after two years of COVID-19 restrictions, outpacing airlines and airports, which are understaffed after pandemic layoffs. Airports such as London’s Heathrow and Amsterdam’s Schiphol have limited daily flights or the number of passengers they receive.

The Lufthansa strike began at 3:45 a.m. Wednesday and is scheduled to end early Thursday. These “warning stoppages” are a common tactic in labor negotiations in Germany and typically last from several hours to a day or two.

Ver.di asks for a 9.5% salary increase for this year and says that the offer made by the airline at the beginning of the month, which includes an agreement for a period of 18 months, is far from his demands.

Lufthansa chief of staff Michael Niggemann said “this so-called warning stoppage in the middle of the peak summer travel season is simply not proportionate.”

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