BackLufthansa pilots’ strike to ground more than 1,400 flights
Pilots planned to stop working from 1.00pm local time on Monday until 11.59pm Tuesday, according to the Vereinigung Cockpit union
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Berlin/London: Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Europe’s second-biggest airline, said the longest strike campaign in its history will ground about 1,500 flights in the next two days, even before the action is extended to long-haul trips on Tuesday.
Pilots planned to stop working from 1.00pm local time on Monday until 11.59pm Tuesday, according to the Vereinigung Cockpit union. Cologne, Germany-based Lufthansa said the walkout will ground around 1,450 short-haul flights and that it’s preparing for an extension of the action to long-haul operations on Tuesday.
Lufthansa has already cancelled thousands of flights because of strike action this year, including 3,800 over three days in April, driving management to cut earnings forecasts in June. The airline aims to operate about one-third, or 700, of its short- haul connections over the next two days using volunteer and management pilots, spokesman Martin Riecken said.
The action is “not understandable and in no way proportionate", Lufthansa said in a statement on Sunday.
Vereinigung Cockpit wants the carrier to reinstate benefits withdrawn last year that were paid to flight crew retiring before they receive the state pension. Lufthansa wants to raise the retirement age to 60 years from 55 as part of a wider cost-cutting and productivity program.
Grounded jumbos
“Lufthansa insists on its maximum demands and has shown absolutely no willingness to compromise," Joerg Handwerk, a spokesman for the union, said on Sunday by phone. Pilots are ready to stage further walkouts beyond this week, he said.
Long-haul walkouts planned for Tuesday will affect Airbus Group NV A380, A340 and A330 aircraft together with Boeing Co. 747 flights, the union said on Monday in a statement on its website. Lufthansa was forced to scrap 58 long-haul flights when pilots refused to fly on 30 September.
Lufthansa shares were unchanged at €11.67 at midday in Frankfurt on Monday. The stock has retreated 25% this year, valuing the carrier at €5.4 billion (over ₹ 42,000 crore).
Train travel in Germany was also disrupted by strike action last week and into the weekend. Other Lufthansa Group carriers including Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Air, Air Dolomiti and Germanwings—which scrapped 46 flights last week—aren’t due to be affected this week. Bloomberg
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