Lufthansa pilot strike hits flights across Europe, including France
Two-day strike announced at short notice affects nearly half of flights
A pilot union called for the strike over pay and pension disputes
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Pilots working for German flag carrier Lufthansa and its CityLine subsidiary are on strike today and tomorrow (March 12 - 13), with nearly half of the main airline’s flights impacted.
A union representing pilots across the Lufthansa Group – Europe’s largest airline – called the strike on Tuesday (March 10) following a dispute over pensions and pay.
It follows an earlier strike on February 12 that affected nearly 100,000 passengers across Europe.
Anyone flying with Lufthansa or its subsidiary CityLine should check information on their flight. Travellers flying with other airlines in the group such as Austrian Airlines, Eurowings, Swiss, and Discover Airlines should be unaffected.
There may be some knock-on disruption from the strikes at non-German airports, however this will be less impactful than the event of an air traffic control strike.
Nearly half of Lufthansa flights affected
“Lufthansa has published a special flight schedule for both days. More than 50 percent of the originally planned flight programme can be offered on Thursday and Friday. For long-haul connections, the proportion is as high as 60 percent,” said the airline in a press release on the strikes.
Remaining services to the Middle East will not be impacted by the strike, however.
“In addition, numerous flights to and from Frankfurt and Munich will be taken over by other airlines of the Lufthansa Group and by partner airlines. Larger aircraft will also be used on the strike days to accommodate more passengers.
“However, despite these efforts, flight cancellations are unavoidable. These cancellations will be loaded into the booking systems,” it added.
Passengers affected will be contacted by the airline, and will receive a full refund or the option to rebook their ticket for free.
Travellers with a domestic German Lufthansa ticket can also exchange it for a train ticket through state operator Deutsche Bahn.
Note that refunds for cancelled flights operate differently from compensation for passengers in the event of a last-minute cancellation or delay, a topic currently being debated as part of an overhaul of European regulations in the flight sector.
