Lufthansa strike grounds flights

Lufthansa cabin crew walked out on April 10, disrupting departures from Frankfurt and Munich as the airline scrambled to rebook passengers and limit cancellations. (dw.com) The strike ran from 12:01 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. local time and covered Lufthansa’s core brand at its two biggest hubs. Cabin crew at Lufthansa CityLine also joined the action across nine German airports, including Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf. (businesstravelnewseurope.com) The cabin crew union, Independent Flight Attendants’ Organisation, or UFO, said 94% of Lufthansa members and 99% of CityLine members backed strike action. Union chairman Joachim Vazquez Bürger said UFO had avoided the Easter bank-holiday period before calling the walkout. (dw.com) The dispute is part of a wider fight over pay and working conditions after months of labor unrest at Germany’s flag carrier. Business Travel News Europe reported that negotiations over a new collective labor agreement broke down before the April 10 strike was announced. (businesstravelnewseurope.com) Lufthansa told customers to check their flight status before going to the airport and said it would try to move affected travelers onto other Lufthansa Group or partner flights. The airline also said some bookings could be converted into Deutsche Bahn train tickets at no extra cost. (dw.com) The airline said it remained open to talks and argued that strikes should be a last resort. Lufthansa also said affected passengers could rebook free of charge on another Lufthansa Group flight between April 8 and April 17, or request a refund by April 10. (businesstravelnewseurope.com) The April action followed another cabin crew strike in March 2024, when UFO called out roughly 19,000 Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine workers. In that dispute, the union demanded a 15% pay increase and a €3,000 inflation-compensation payment. (dw.com) Lufthansa has also been dealing with separate conflicts with pilots and ground staff. Deutsche Welle reported that pilots and flight attendants struck together in February 2026, leading to almost 800 canceled flights and affecting about 100,000 passengers. (dw.com) For travelers, the immediate effect was another day of uncertainty at the airline’s two main German hubs. For Lufthansa, it was one more disruption in a stretch of repeated labor clashes that has spilled from winter into the spring travel season. (dw.com)