The strike of pilots of the German airline Lufthansa led to the cancellation this Friday of some 800 flights with the impact on approximately, 66, 000 travellers.
“Lufthansa has to cancel all flights to and from Frankfurt and Munich for this Friday, September 2,” the company said in statements quoted by media such as Forbes. The airline recognized that this will have a massive impact on air operations in the height of the return season at the end of the summer holidays in Germany and other European countries.
By mid-afternoon in Germany, 600 flights had been cancelled, representing a full two-thirds or 66% of the airline’s scheduled flights.
The most affected airports are Frankfurt and Munich, with 34% and 27% of the altered flights.
On Wednesday night, the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union announced the strike of 24 hours that would start after midnight on Thursday, after negotiations with company executives failed to bear fruit. The 5,000 members of the union demand a 5.5% salary increase starting this year and automatic increases due to inflation in subsequent years. Lufthansa management assured that it has offered a balanced plan to the workers and that they do not understand why they are on strike.
“The Administration has made a very good and socially balanced offer, despite the continuing burdens from the COVID crisis and the uncertain outlook for the global economy,” said Michael Niggemann, Chief Human Resources Officer and Labor Director of Deutsche Lufthansa AG.
It is not the first time that employees have risen up to demand salary improvements. Last July, the airline had to cancel more than 1,000 flights in a week when ground staff stopped their work.