Lufthansa, 294 more flights canceled
Staff strike continues

FRANKFURT – New difficulties for Lufthansa passengers due to the ongoing strike of the crew of the German flag carrier. At least 294 flights have been canceled today, including 208 at Frankfurt airport. The airports involved in the protest are, in addition to those in Frankfurt, those of Berlin and Munich. The most affected routes are the European ones.

The German company operates 1,800 flights a day globally and in today’s strike cancellations also involved flights to Los Angeles, Tokyo and Mexico City. On the Lufthansa website it is possible to check which flights have been canceled, communicated the same German carrier.

Half of the short and medium-haul flights from Frankfurt were canceled as well as one third of long-haul flights. Also, in Berlin short and medium-haul flights were canceled, although to a lesser extent, thanks to the use of employees rented from a specialized company. According to the UFO category union there are over a thousand Lufthansa employees on strike. “We regret that there was this escalation, but there were no alternatives to the strike after the breakdown of the negotiations,” the UFO trade union said in a statement.

13 months have passed since the start of negotiations with the union, which calls for a 5% increase in wages, compared to an offer of 3.5%. The thorniest argument however concerns the use of temporary personnel and the transfer of employees to a low-cost regional company.

(04 September 2012)