Lufthansa strike: Why pilots and flight crew walked out of German airline, fueling 800 flight cancellations — Explained

Lufthansa strike: Germany-based global airline operator, Lufthansa, is witnessing a major disruption in its flight operations with several flights cancelled after pilots and flight crews went on strike amid the airline's efforts to cut costs, reported the news agency Reuters on Thursday, 12 February 2026.

A report from the news portal DW suggests that the strike comes as a result of nearly 4,800 pilots, who work for the passenger airline and the company's freight transport arm, looking to pressure the company into paying higher contributions to their retirement benefits.

However, Lufthansa on Thursday said that the core airline is the “problem child” and that there is no financial leeway for the company to deal with the additional cost demands from the staff members.

How many flights have been cancelled?

According to the agency report citing Lufthansa's official statement, close to 800 flights have been cancelled, disrupting the company's airline operations, affecting travel plans of around 100,000 passengers.

This strike “affects our passengers extremely harshly and disproportionately,” the company said, while highlighting that they expect operations to return to their normal schedule on Friday, 13 February 2026.

The German airport association, ADV, announced that they estimate that more than 460 flights will be cancelled, with nearly 70,000 people affected due to the sudden disruptions, according to the agency report.

Frankfurt and Munich airports, which are the hubs for the German airline, reportedly showed that most flights were cancelled for Thursday, including airlines which were scheduled for foreign destinations.

According to the agency report, Lufthansa said that it will try to rebook passengers on its other airlines or partner airlines before the company expects to return to its normal schedule operations on Friday.

What's at stake?

The pilot and crew's walkout, orchestrated by the respective unions, comes at a time when Germany is set to host the Berlinale film festival, where every year people from all over the world gather.

This move also comes at a time when politicians and military officials gather for the Munich Security Conference on Friday, 13 February 2026. The unions are demanding that the company raise its contributions to the employee pensions.

According to the agency report, the pilot and flight attendants' union declared their readiness to strike after a ballot vote last year in an effort to pressure the company into granting more retirement benefits.

“The simultaneous industrial action by pilots is a coincidence, but one that is welcome,” UFO union representative Harry Jaeger told the news agency. “We want to annoy management, not passengers,” he said.

The President of the German pilots' Union VC, Andreas Pinheiro, told the news portal DW that “we would very much have liked to avoid an escalation” and that the union has always been ready to talk.

“That this strike is taking place nonetheless is the fault of the employer,” he told the news portal. However, the report also suggests that the UFO union of flight attendants' strike, affecting nearly 20,000 members, is taking place without a prior vote on the matter.

What should passengers do?

Passengers who are travelling or are booking with the German carrier Lufthansa should prepare themselves for any potential cancellations or delays affecting the flight operations due to the employee strike.

Lufthansa travellers should check their updated flight status before leaving for the airport to avoid any unnecessary travel. The airline has mentioned that they are trying to re-book passengers into partner airlines like Swiss, Austrian Airlines and Brussels Airlines, according to the news portal's report.

The report also highlighted that the company is also offering an option to change the flight bookings to train tickets with the national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, without any extra cost.