Berlin: Germany’s Lufthansa Airlines has decided to cancel 800 flights on Friday, which is likely to affect 1,30,000 passengers. The pilots’ union had announced to go on a one-day strike.
Union Vereeniging Cockpit accused Lufthansa on Thursday of failing to improve on its previous offer, leaving pilots with no choice but to go on strike to press for their demands.
Lufthansa says it is canceling almost all passenger and cargo flights from its two biggest hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, on Friday because of planned strike action by pilots. A union representing Lufthansa pilots said early Thursday that they would walk out after management rejected a demand for a pay rise.
Lufthansa said around 800 flights had been cancelled, affecting many passengers returning from the end of summer holidays. It said the airline’s budget carrier Eurowings would not be affected.
According to Lufthansa, the company offered a one-time raise of 900 euros (USD 900), which amounts to a 5 percent increase for senior pilots and an 18 percent increase for those entering the profession. called for an automatic above-inflation increase.
In addition, the pilots are demanding a new pay and vacation structure that the airline said would increase its staffing costs by about 40 percent, or some 900 million euros, over two years.