Overview
- The two-day walkout by more than 5,000 pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine continues Friday, with disruptions concentrated at Frankfurt and Munich.
- Airport operators reported about 400 of 1,165 movements canceled in Frankfurt and roughly 230 of around 800 in Munich on Thursday, with Munich expecting fewer cancellations on Friday as CityLine resumes flying.
- Lufthansa says a special schedule is operating more than half of flights and about 60 percent of long-haul services by deploying larger aircraft, using other group carriers and voluntary crews, and proactively notifying customers.
- The union Vereinigung Cockpit disputes the airline’s figures, asserting that about 70 percent of aircraft were grounded by Thursday afternoon and reporting strong participation by pilots.
- Middle East routes are exempt from the strike, and the dispute centers on company pensions at Lufthansa and Cargo as well as a new pay deal at CityLine, with the union saying no negotiable offer has been presented.