Lufthansa crew strike hits Europe
Lufthansa cabin crew launched a strike running April 15–16 that is hitting all German airports, including major hubs at Frankfurt and Munich, and forcing widespread cancellations and rebookings. (loyaltylobby.com). Reuters reports the pilots’ union said Lufthansa rejected an arbitration offer in the wage dispute, signalling the deadlock is still active as disruptions pile up (reuters.com). Regional knock‑on effects include 62 flights cancelled in Italy (Rome and Milan) and immediate cancellations at Manchester Airport, and passengers may be eligible for up to €600 under EU Regulation 261/2004 where staff action causes cancellations ( ).
Lufthansa cabin crew began a two-day strike on Wednesday, April 15, forcing cancellations across Germany and rippling into airports across Europe. (lufthansaexperts.com) Lufthansa said the walkout covers Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine on April 15 and 16, and warned that cancellations were unavoidable even as it tried to shift passengers onto partner airlines. The carrier said Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Swiss, Air Dolomiti, Discover Airlines, Edelweiss and Lufthansa City Airlines were not part of this strike. (lufthansaexperts.com) The cabin crew action landed immediately after a 48-hour pilot strike on April 13 and 14. Reuters reported on April 15 that Lufthansa and the Vereinigung Cockpit pilots’ union were deadlocked over whether to enter arbitration, with each side attaching different conditions to the offer. (usnews.com, lufthansaexperts.com) That sequencing has turned a labor dispute into a weeklong network problem at Lufthansa’s two biggest hubs, Frankfurt and Munich. Deutsche Welle reported the pilot walkout was the fourth strike to hit the airline in 2026, with Frankfurt and Munich taking the hardest blow. (dw.com) The disruption is no longer confined to Germany. Manchester Evening News reported on April 15 that Lufthansa had cancelled more Manchester flights after about 900 flights were scrubbed at Frankfurt and Munich on Tuesday, while AirHelp said delays and cancellations had spread across 19 airports and 13 airlines in the Lufthansa Group disruption. (manchestereveningnews.co.uk, airhelp.com) For passengers, the immediate issue is rebooking and assistance. Lufthansa said customers on cancelled flights can rebook once without a fee or request a refund, and domestic German passengers can swap a cancelled Lufthansa ticket for a Deutsche Bahn rail ticket. (lufthansaexperts.com) European Union rules also require airlines to provide care during cancellations and long delays. The European Union’s passenger-rights portal says airlines must give written notice of rights and provide assistance when flights are cancelled or delayed by more than two hours, and Court of Justice case law says some airline staff strikes do not automatically count as “extraordinary circumstances” that erase compensation claims. (europa.eu, fra.europa.eu) Under Regulation 261/2004, fixed compensation can reach 250 euros, 400 euros or 600 euros depending on flight distance, although eligibility depends on the route, the operating carrier and the reason for the disruption. Lufthansa is telling affected travelers to check flight status before leaving for the airport, a sign that the schedule is still moving as the strike runs through Thursday, April 16. (legislation.gov.uk, lufthansaexperts.com)
