Lufthansa pilots strike hits travel
Germany’s pilots’ union VC called a two‑day strike on Monday and Tuesday affecting Lufthansa and other carriers and the union represents at least 10,000 pilots across airlines. ( ). Reporting calls this the third strike in a month and describes a 48‑hour walkout. (simpleflying.com). Airline disruption estimates put about 500 flights grounded and roughly 90,000 passengers stranded in the post‑Easter rush. (travelandtourworld.com).
Lufthansa pilots began a two-day strike on Monday, forcing Germany’s biggest airline group onto a reduced schedule across April 13 and 14. (lufthansaexperts.com) The walkout covers Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine for both days, while Eurowings pilots were called out for Monday only on flights operated by Eurowings Germany. The pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit said the action started at 12:01 a.m. local time on April 13 and runs until 11:59 p.m. on April 14. (euronews.com, vcockpit.de) Lufthansa said the affected airlines would operate about one-third of their short-haul schedule on both days and about half of long-haul flights, while Eurowings said it would run 60 percent of its schedule on Monday. Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines, Air Dolomiti, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss and Lufthansa City Airlines were listed as not affected by the strike. (lufthansaexperts.com) Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa’s two main hubs, were hit first on Monday morning, with Frankfurt Airport warning of delays and cancellations all day and Munich showing only flights still scheduled in its departures search. Deutsche Welle reported that many European departures from Frankfurt were already canceled and some domestic trips were switched to rail replacements. (dw.com, lufthansa.com) The dispute is centered on company pensions. Reuters reported that Vereinigung Cockpit said Lufthansa had not made an acceptable offer, while Lufthansa called the union’s demand to “double” an already strong pension scheme “absurd and unachievable.” (rte.ie, marketwatch.com) Union president Andreas Pinheiro said the union had held off on striking over Easter and still did not receive what it considered a serious offer. Lufthansa said it was working to limit disruption, rebook passengers and issue refunds for canceled flights. (euronews.com, lufthansa.com) This is not Lufthansa’s first labor stoppage this spring. Vereinigung Cockpit’s press archive shows a two-day March pilot strike, and Deutsche Welle said the April 13 action is the fourth strike to hit Lufthansa and some subsidiaries in 2026, coming days after cabin crew walked out. (vcockpit.de, dw.com) Passengers on canceled domestic Lufthansa flights can swap their ticket for a Deutsche Bahn rail ticket, and travelers with canceled flights can rebook once for free or request a refund. Lufthansa told customers to check flight status before leaving for the airport as the reduced timetable continues through Tuesday night. (lufthansaexperts.com, lufthansa.com)
