Lufthansa Cancels Hundreds Of Flights

The “Airmaggedon” in Europe continues to have no end in sight, with a lack of staff impacting flight operations at major hubs such as London and Paris, with the latest setback in Frankfurt and Munich yesterday caused by a union-called strike.

Yesterday, Lufthansa was forced to cancel nearly all of its flights at Frankfurt and Munich airports owing to a ground staff strike.

The union has given an estimated 20,000 Lufthansa ground staff members notice that they will participate in a full-day strike on 27 July from 3:45 am to 6 am as a “warning” amid current pay negotiations.

Lufthansa cancelled 678 Frankfurt and 345 Munich flights, affecting 92,000 passengers.

Flight cancellations and delays across Europe have increased since governments eased the pandemic restrictions, and the aviation industry has struggled to rehire enough staff to keep up with demand. In addition, in light of the tight labour market, some workers’ groups are also resorting to strikes in order to press for higher pay.

Lufthansa assessed that the union’s decision to go on strike at this point in the salary negotiations was unreasonable.

A “previously productive collective bargaining session is causing significant damage,” stated Michael Niggemann, Chief Human Resources Officer of Lufthansa.  When travelling at the peak of the season, this has a significant impact on our customers. This is putting an additional burden on our staff when air traffic is already experiencing difficulties.

Lufthansa said it would endeavour to rebook travellers but warns that there is limited space.

Verdi claimed members rejected Lufthansa’s salary offer on 25 July 2022 since it wasn’t high enough to keep up with rising inflation and costs.

The union has requested that all employees receive at least a 350-euro-a-month raise. It has been announced that Lufthansa is offering a monthly rise of 250 euros, which will be given out in two stages, along with an increase connected to the business’ success.

According to Verdi, only a few ground and security workers left after a two-year mass exodus brought on by the virus. In part, they’ve run out of steam because their employer isn’t doing much to help their circumstances.