A strike by pilots at German airline Lufthansa, scheduled for Thursday and Friday, is causing the cancellation of hundreds of flights at Munich and Frankfurt airports. At Geneva Airport, eight return flights were affected on Thursday.
About 400 of the 1,165 scheduled flights to and from Frankfurt were canceled on the first day of the strike. In Munich, 230 of the approximately 800 scheduled flights were canceled. These figures include all airlines, but the majority of the cancellations are attributed to Lufthansa.
At Geneva Airport, six Lufthansa flights (return) and two Brussels Airlines flights (return) were canceled on Thursday. The expected disruptions for Friday are not yet known, according to a spokesperson for Cointrin airport.
In Zurich, two flights (one way and one return) connecting Frankfurt and Munich were canceled on Thursday. According to current information, similar disruptions are expected on Friday.
More cancellations than expected
The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union, which launched the strike, reports a large turnout of employees in this second wave of actions. According to the union, as of Thursday morning, over 75% of short-haul flights and over 70% of long-haul flights affected by the strike had been canceled.
The cancellations are significantly higher than Lufthansa's initial forecasts, which had assured that at least half of its scheduled flights would operate during the two days of the strike. For long-haul flights, 60% were expected to depart. These flights often use pilots who have passed to Lufthansa management but retain their licenses, albinfo.ch reports.
The terminals are operating normally, according to a spokesman for the operator Fraport in Frankfurt. Only the Lufthansa areas are quieter. At other German airports, flights connecting to major hubs have been mostly canceled. Other Lufthansa lines, such as Eurowings, as well as foreign subsidiaries, have not been affected by the strike.
Lufthansa has announced that it will use larger aircraft, utilize the group's routes not affected by the strike and employ volunteer crews.
Improvement expected on Friday
Passengers affected by the cancellations should be notified by email. Those who are not contacted can assume their flight is not affected. Flights to crisis areas in the Middle East are not expected to be affected by the strike. Air traffic is expected to return to normal on Saturday.
An initial improvement is expected on Friday, as the small Lufthansa CityLine subsidiary will be affected for just one day. This regional subsidiary operates connecting flights between smaller airports and two major hubs.
Negotiations have stalled.
The VC union has called on over 5,000 pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine to go on strike from midnight. While regional subsidiary CityLine is demanding a pay rise, unions at Cargo and the parent company are at odds over pension increases.
Lufthansa has described this second wave of strikes as an unnecessary escalation, citing the parent company's strained financial situation. According to the union, Lufthansa has not yet offered new offers, so the strike is continuing as planned.
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