Lufthansa Strikes Disrupt German Travel & Arts Events

Lufthansa cancelled hundreds of flights Thursday as pilots and cabin crew walked off the job in a 24-hour strike, disrupting travel across Germany and potentially impacting the Munich Security Conference scheduled to start Friday.

The strike, announced Wednesday, involves pilots represented by the Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) union and flight attendants represented by the UFO union. Lufthansa criticized the timing of the strike as “short notice,” but union leaders maintain they attempted to avoid industrial action.

The VC union initiated the strike over stalled negotiations regarding pension benefits. “We deliberately gave Lufthansa several months to come up with a solution,” said VC President Andreas Pinheiro, adding that staff “would have very much liked to avoid an escalation.” Pilots from both Lufthansa’s passenger and cargo operations are participating in the work stoppage. The union’s members voted in favor of striking last September.

UFO’s strike action centers on two key issues: the planned shutdown of Lufthansa CityLine, a regional subsidiary and the airline’s refusal to negotiate a collective social plan for affected employees. Lufthansa announced a year ago its intention to close Lufthansa CityLine, relocating operations and staff to a new subsidiary. UFO stated the strike was triggered by “the management has refused to enter into negotiations with us at all” regarding working conditions and pensions.

The disruption is widespread, affecting all German airports, including major international hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. Cargo flights are also impacted. Passengers traveling on Thursday face significant delays and cancellations.

Lufthansa’s decision to implement cost-cutting measures, including a planned reduction of 4,000 jobs, or nearly 4% of its workforce, is a contributing factor to the current labor dispute. The airline reported a 20% decline in earnings in 2024, falling behind other leading European carriers. Lufthansa maintains these cuts are necessary to manage its debt load.

As of Thursday afternoon, Lufthansa had not issued a statement regarding potential negotiations with the unions to resolve the strike. The outcome of the strike and its impact on Lufthansa’s financial performance remain uncertain.