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Lufthansa Pilots Strike Grounds Hundreds of Flights in 48-Hour Walkout

The walkout highlights a pension dispute that Lufthansa says is unaffordable.

Overview

  • Vereinigung Cockpit, which began a 48-hour strike Monday, halted operations at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and CityLine, with Eurowings Germany affected only on Monday.
  • Disruption hit major hubs as Munich logged about 720 cancellations by late morning and Frankfurt saw roughly 560 scrapped flights, while BER listed dozens; airlines urged passengers to check status, with rebooking and Deutsche Bahn rail options available.
  • VC says talks stalled on a richer company pension and a new pay deal at regional carrier CityLine, and the union says it remains ready to negotiate if Lufthansa tables a workable offer.
  • Lufthansa rejected the demands as unrealistic, calling the pensions already generous, and Chief Human Resources Officer Michael Niggemann labeled the strike irresponsible.
  • Flights to selected Middle East destinations were excluded for security reasons, and the cabin-crew union Ufo announced new walkouts for Wednesday and Thursday at Lufthansa and CityLine, raising the risk of further cancellations.