Widespread Lufthansa strikes
Lufthansa pilots staged a two-day strike and cabin crew planned follow-up action, leading to hundreds of cancellations across Germany this week. (reuters.com) One recent wave cancelled roughly 500 flights and left about 90,000 passengers stranded during the Easter return rush. (thetraveler.org)
Lufthansa’s labor fight is spilling across a second week, with pilots striking on April 13 and 14 and cabin crew set to walk out on April 15 and 16. (lufthansa.com, vcockpit.de) Lufthansa said its flight schedule faces restrictions from Monday, April 13, through Thursday, April 16, 2026, because of strike calls by the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union and the Independent Flight Attendants Organization, known as UFO. The airline said it was trying to operate as many flights as possible through other Lufthansa Group and partner airlines. (lufthansa.com, lufthansa.com) The pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit called a two-day strike after saying Lufthansa management had shown “no recognizable will” to settle several labor disputes. The union’s April 11 notice covered Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, CityLine and Eurowings flights departing German airports on April 13 and 14. (vcockpit.de, lufthansa.com) UFO then widened the disruption by calling cabin crew at Deutsche Lufthansa to strike all departures from Frankfurt and Munich from 12:01 a.m. local time on April 15 through 11:59 p.m. on April 16. A parallel UFO call covers Lufthansa CityLine cabin crew on departures from Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Bremen, Stuttgart, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Berlin and Hanover over the same two days. (ufo-online.aero, ufo-online.aero) This week’s stoppages follow a one-day UFO strike on April 10 that Lufthansa had already flagged as a schedule restriction. UFO said that earlier walkout came after eight weeks without movement in talks over a new collective agreement, and said 94 percent of voting members had backed industrial action. (lufthansa.com, ufo-online.aero) The disputes are not all the same. Vereinigung Cockpit is pressing Lufthansa on pilot contracts, while UFO’s April notices focus on cabin crew terms at Lufthansa and a separate social plan for Lufthansa CityLine staff. (vcockpit.de, ufo-online.aero) Lufthansa has told affected passengers to check booking status, rebook for a later date or request a refund. The airline also says some canceled flights can be converted into Deutsche Bahn rail tickets on eligible routes, and passengers may have rights under European Union Regulation 261 if flights are canceled or heavily delayed. (lufthansa.com, lufthansa.com) The strikes are landing in the Easter return-travel period, when missed connections at Frankfurt and Munich can ripple far beyond Germany because both airports are major Lufthansa hubs. For travelers, the practical timetable is now clear: pilot disruption on April 13 and 14, then cabin crew disruption on April 15 and 16 unless the sides reach a late deal. (lufthansa.com, lufthansa.com)
