Lufthansa pilots in two-day strike action

A number of Lufthansa flights to and from Ireland have been cancelled as the airline’s pilots begin a 48-hour walkout, the latest disruption to its operations in a long-running pay dispute.

Only two flights from the carrier were scheduled today, with one landing at 5.25am and the other scheduled to arrive on time later today.

It added the call to extend the walkout was “completely uncomprehensible”.

Separately, public-sector union Verdi has called for a 24-hour strike on Tuesday by cabin crews at Lufthansa’s no-frills airline Eurowings at Duesseldorf and Hamburg airports.

The airline had already scrapped almost 900 flights that affected 100,000 passengers on Wednesday after pilots staged a walkout in a row over pay and working conditions.

The airline apologized to customers in a statement and said that passengers will not be charged a fee to rebook.

The strike is the 14th to hit the airline in its row with the Vereinigung Cockpit union.

Just this summer, the airline at last reached an agreement with cabin crew, ending the two-year labour dispute that impacted hundreds of thousands of passengers.

The Lufthansa pilots are demanding a pay hike of average of 3.66 per cent per year, retroactive for the past five years.

Lufthansa personnel chief Bettina Volkens said that Cockpit’s pay demands go “far beyond what other groups of employees have received”. Lufthansa has offered 2.5 percent over the six years to 2019.

The extension of the strike is seen as an escalation by VC, which will cause even more uncertainty for passengers. “Lufthansa management has shown no sign that it is willing to move and has not provided an offer that could serve as a basis for negotiations”, VC board member Joerg Handwerg said.

The no-frills carrier said long-haul flights were not be affected. Because this labour dispute can only be resolved if a compromise can be found together.