Lufthansa two‑day strike
Germany’s pilots’ union called a two‑day strike at Lufthansa for Monday and Tuesday, a move aimed at Germany’s busiest hubs. (euronews.com) Reporting tied the action to Europe‑wide disruption that included 261 cancellations and 1,446 delays, and said France’s biggest airports left more than 500 passengers stranded. ( ) United has warned travelers about knock‑on problems at three major international airports because of the German pilot action. (thetravel.com)
Lufthansa pilots began a two-day strike on Monday, April 13, after their union said talks over pay and pensions had stalled. (dw.com) The walkout runs from 12:01 a.m. local time on April 13 through 11:59 p.m. on April 14, according to Vereinigung Cockpit, the German pilots’ union. It covers pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine, while Eurowings flights departing German airports are included on April 13. (euronews.com) Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa’s two main hubs, are expected to take the hardest hit. Deutsche Welle reported that nearly 75% of about 350 scheduled Lufthansa departures from Frankfurt were canceled during the latest cabin-crew stoppage, and Lufthansa’s live status page now flags strike-related restrictions for April 13 and 14. (dw.com; lufthansa.com) The dispute is part of a broader labor fight that has stretched across 2026. Deutsche Welle called Friday’s cabin-crew walkout Lufthansa’s third major strike this year, following two earlier rounds of pilot strikes. (dw.com) The pilots’ union says Lufthansa has not put forward a negotiable offer in several collective bargaining disputes. Deutsche Welle reported that union president Andreas Pinheiro said the company showed “no discernible willingness” to reach a solution, while a March union statement tied the conflict to pension terms at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo and pay issues at Lufthansa CityLine. (dw.com; vcockpit.de) Vereinigung Cockpit says pilots at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo lost a traditional company pension in 2017 and were moved to a market-based model that delivers lower benefits. The union said it had gone through seven bargaining rounds before calling the March strike and said no offer had followed. (vcockpit.de) Lufthansa says it is trying to limit the damage by shifting as many flights as possible to other Lufthansa Group airlines and partner carriers. The airline says affected passengers can check their booking status online, rebook for a later date, or request a refund if their flight is canceled. (lufthansa.com) For travelers, the immediate issue is timing: the strike was announced with less than two days’ notice and lands at the start of the workweek, when Frankfurt and Munich handle dense business and connecting traffic. Lufthansa says passengers may be notified late because call volumes are high, and it is directing customers to digital rebooking tools and flight-status pages. (euronews.com; lufthansa.com) The next marker is Tuesday night, April 14, when the strike is scheduled to end. Whether flights normalize quickly after that will depend on aircraft, crew and passenger repositioning through Lufthansa’s busiest German hubs. (dw.com; lufthansa.com)
