German pilot strike grounds flights
A 48‑hour walkout called by the Vereinigung Cockpit union has grounded more than 500 flights and hit major hubs including Frankfurt and Munich, affecting carriers such as Lufthansa, British Airways, easyJet, KLM, SWISS and Brussels Airlines. (travelandtourworld.com) Travel reports say the action involves both pilots and cabin crew and is tied to pay and contract disputes, producing immediate cancellations and disruption across European schedules. (travelandtourworld.com)
Lufthansa pilots have started a new round of strikes in Germany, extending flight disruption at Frankfurt and Munich into April 16 and April 17. (vcockpit.de) The pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit said on April 14 that its latest walkout will run from 12:01 a.m. local time on Thursday, April 16, through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, April 17, for Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine departures from German airports. Eurowings departures from German airports are included for April 16 only. (vcockpit.de) This follows an earlier 48-hour strike on Monday, April 13, and Tuesday, April 14, that Lufthansa said hit Lufthansa, Lufthansa CityLine and Eurowings with little notice. The airline said it expected to operate about one-third of its short-haul schedule and about half of its long-haul schedule during that stoppage. (lufthansaexperts.com) Reuters reported on April 13 that the first day of the pilots’ strike caused hundreds of cancellations at Lufthansa and Eurowings and affected tens of thousands of passengers. A separate Reuters report said Lufthansa cabin crew also called a two-day strike for Wednesday, April 15, and Thursday, April 16. (msn.com 1) (msn.com 2) The dispute is centered on labor contracts, not air traffic control or airport staffing. Vereinigung Cockpit said Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo had made no offer on company pension schemes, Lufthansa CityLine had not made a viable pay offer, and Eurowings had made no pension offer. (vcockpit.de) The union paired its latest strike notice with a call for arbitration. Vereinigung Cockpit President Andreas Pinheiro said the situation was “unchanged” and proposed a binding mediation process with an independent third party. (vcockpit.de) Lufthansa has tried to limit the fallout by shifting some flying to other group airlines and partners. For the April 13-14 strike, it said Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Air Dolomiti, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss and Lufthansa City Airlines were not directly affected. (lufthansaexperts.com) Passengers on canceled Lufthansa flights have been offered free rebooking or refunds, and domestic German Lufthansa tickets can be swapped for Deutsche Bahn rail tickets. Lufthansa has told travelers to check flight status before going to the airport. (lufthansaexperts.com) (lufthansa.com) For travelers, the immediate issue is no longer just a two-day stoppage but overlapping labor actions across much of this week. For Lufthansa, the next test is whether arbitration talks begin before the April 16-17 pilot strike window opens. (vcockpit.de) (euronews.com)
