A joint strike by pilots and cabin crew at Lufthansa, the German airline, has resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of flights as the work stoppage entered its fourth day. This has significantly impacted operations across mainline Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, and the regional carrier CityLine.
At Frankfurt Airport, the operator Fraport reported that out of 1,313 scheduled takeoffs and landings for Thursday, 656 flights were canceled. While these figures encompass all airlines, the majority of cancellations have been attributed to Lufthansa.
Efforts to mediate an agreement in the wage dispute involving pilots failed on Wednesday, with Lufthansa and the pilots’ union Cockpit unable to reach consensus on the negotiation agenda. The protests also overshadowed events celebrating the 100th anniversary of Lufthansa’s founding.
For Eurowings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, the strike was only set for Thursday, but a further strike remains a possibility for other companies on Friday. A company spokesperson indicated that Eurowings managed to operate over 70% of its scheduled flights, noting that only a portion of its fleet was affected by German strike laws. Additionally, hundreds of pilots flying German planes volunteered to continue working during the strike.