Airline cancels more than 1,700 flights over Tuesday and Wednesday
Strike of the Pilots union “Vereinigung Cockpit” (VC) for Lufthansa flights from Germany on continental routes on 29 November 2016, on continental and intercontinental routes on 30 November 2016
Deutsche Lufthansa AG on Monday said it would cancel more than 1,700 flights for the following two days after its principal pilots union extended strike plans into a second week.
Lufthansa last week had to cancel thousands of flights after pilots grounded much of the German flag carrier’s operations over four days of strikes in a protracted dispute over employment terms. Each strike day cost the airline about €10 million ($10.6 million).
Lufthansa’s main pilots union, Vereinigung Cockpit, late Sunday said it had called on pilots for short-haul flights not to report to work on Tuesday. The union has also appealed to pilots flying mid-haul and the more lucrative long-haul services to join the walkout on Wednesday.
Lufthansa said about 816 of 3,000 flights would be canceled Tuesday, affecting around 82,000 passengers. The next day 890 flights will be grounded, with 98,000 passengers affected.
Lufthansa said the six days of strikes—including the next two days—will have caused 4,461 flights to be canceled, and disrupted the travel plans of more than 525,000 passengers.
The strike announcement concerns Lufthansa operated flights only. Flights operated by Germanwings, Eurowings, Air Dolomiti, Austrian Airlines, SWISS and Brussels Airlines are not affected by the strike measures and will continue to operate normally.
