Lufthansa two‑day strike

Lufthansa pilots are set to walk off the job on Monday, April 13, and Tuesday, April 14, threatening broad cancellations across the airline’s German network. (vcockpit.de) The pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit said the strike starts at 12:01 a.m. local time on April 13 and runs through 11:59 p.m. on April 14 for Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, and Lufthansa CityLine. Eurowings pilots are being called out for April 13 only on departures from German airports. (vcockpit.de) Lufthansa told travel agents that cancellations are unavoidable and said disrupted flights would be loaded into booking systems by Sunday morning, April 12, Central European Time. The airline said Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Air Dolomiti, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss, and Lufthansa City Airlines are not part of this strike. (lufthansaexperts.com) Frankfurt and Munich are expected to take the biggest hit because they are Lufthansa’s two main German hubs. Bloomberg reported that the stoppage will affect passenger flights, cargo flights, and Eurowings departures, adding to a turbulent start to 2026 for Europe’s biggest airline group. (bloomberg.com) The fight is centered on pensions and pay. Vereinigung Cockpit said Lufthansa had not put a workable offer on the table for occupational pensions at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo, had not produced a viable new pay deal at CityLine, and had made an “unacceptable” pension offer at Eurowings. (vcockpit.de) Lufthansa said the union’s demands would effectively double a company pension plan that is already “excellent and above average,” and called the walkout a new escalation in the middle of collective bargaining. The union said it had held back from striking over the Easter holidays and remained open to talks. (bloomberg.com; vcockpit.de) This is the latest labor disruption for Lufthansa after a separate one-day cabin crew strike on Friday, April 10. Bloomberg reported that action was expected to cancel more than 520 flights and affect about 90,000 passengers across German airports. (bloomberg.com) There are carve-outs in the pilots’ strike. Vereinigung Cockpit said Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine flights from Germany to Azerbaijan, Egypt, Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates are exempt because of the current situation in the Middle East. (vcockpit.de) Passengers whose flights are canceled can rebook once without a fee or request a refund, according to Lufthansa’s travel-agent advisory. For canceled domestic Lufthansa flights inside Germany, the airline said travelers can swap the ticket for a Deutsche Bahn rail ticket. (lufthansaexperts.com) By Sunday, April 12, the practical question for travelers was no longer whether there would be disruption, but how much of Lufthansa’s German schedule could still be salvaged before the strike window opens just after midnight. (lufthansaexperts.com; vcockpit.de)