Pilots Hold Strike, Lufthansa Cancels 800 Flights Friday

Illustration of Lufthansa Airlines. (Wikimedia Commons/Tetzemann)

JAKARTA - German airline Lufthansa said it would cancel 800 flights on Friday, possibly affecting 130,000 passengers, after the pilots' union announced a one-day strike.

The Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union said late Wednesday that salary talks had failed and Lufthansa pilots would go on a 24-hour strike starting just after midnight on Thursday, affecting passenger and cargo services.

Lufthansa said the flight cancellations would affect Frankfurt and Munich airports, adding some flights would also have to be canceled on Thursday.

The VC is demanding a 5.5 percent pay increase this year for its more than 5,000 pilots, as well as automatic inflation compensation thereafter.

"We hope to return to negotiations as soon as possible," a Lufthansa spokesman said.

"However, we also cannot afford the increased costs associated with VC demands," he added.

The strikes and staff shortages have forced airlines, including Lufthansa, to cancel thousands of flights this summer, causing hours of queues at major airports, frustrating travelers looking to travel after the COVID-19 lockdown.

Previously, Lufthansa had faced strikes this year by security and ground staff overpayments.

The airline said it was doing everything possible to minimize the impact of Friday's pilot strike, but could not rule out cancellations or delays in some cases over the weekend.

Michael Niggemann, a member of Lufthansa's executive board in charge of human resources, said the strike was incomprehensible and defended the airline's "excellent and socially balanced" offer.

Lufthansa has offered a total of 900 euros, more in base salary per month in two tranches over a period of 18 months, as well as an agreement guaranteeing cockpit staff a minimum fleet size.

Germany's federal cartel office (Bundeskartellamt) on Thursday also barred Lufthansa from terminating its long-term cooperation agreement with charter carrier Condor until further notice, saying the national carrier was preventing Condor from competing on long-haul routes.

Lufthansa said it took note of the cartel office's decision, adding: "However, we do not agree with the Bundeskartellamt and will therefore submit the decision to reconsideration."