Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Lufthansa Cabin Crew Strike Grounds Hundreds of Flights in Germany

The walkout underscores a months-long bargaining stalemate tied to the wind-down of regional unit CityLine.

Overview

  • Cabin crew represented by UFO stopped work Friday between 00:01 and 22:00, prompting widespread cancellations at Lufthansa’s Frankfurt and Munich hubs.
  • Scale of disruption was steep at Frankfurt, where nearly 75% of roughly 350 scheduled Lufthansa departures were canceled, and airport operator Fraport counted about 580 cancellations across all airlines affecting some 72,000 passengers.
  • CityLine cabin crew also walked out at nine German airports, leading to knock-on cancellations in cities including Berlin, Stuttgart, Hamburg, Hanover, Bremen, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Leipzig/Halle.
  • Lufthansa said it contacted affected customers and leaned on other group carriers to keep people moving, with SWISS deploying larger jets on ZurichFrankfurt and ZurichMunich flights to add seats.
  • UFO says talks have stalled over a new framework contract that would set more predictable shifts, longer notice periods and a social plan for about 800 CityLine cabin crew, while CEO Jens Ritter called the stoppage “really hurts” during the Easter return rush and urged a return to negotiations in what is the airline’s third major labor disruption since February.