Lufthansa faces widespread disruption as pilots and cabin crew extend strike action

Lufthansa passengers are experiencing significant disruption as industrial action by both pilots and cabin crew enters its fourth consecutive day, forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights across Germany’s busiest airports.

The latest round of strikes involves the pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) and the flight attendants’ union UFO, both of which are pressing separate disputes with the airline, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

While pilots previously staged walkouts earlier in the week, they have now extended their action to include additional strike days, further intensifying pressure on the carrier.

Cabin crew have also escalated their industrial action, targeting Lufthansa’s core operations at Frankfurt and Munich hubs, as well as services operated by its subsidiary CityLine. UFO is seeking progress in negotiations over a new collective agreement covering working conditions.

The impact on operations has been severe. At Frankfurt Airport alone, Lufthansa is expected to cancel up to 3,000 flights over the course of the week. On April 16, airport operator Fraport recorded 656 cancellations out of 1,313 scheduled take-offs and landings. While these figures include all airlines operating at the airport, the majority of disruptions are attributed to Lufthansa.

Further pressure is expected as the pilots’ union plans additional strikes affecting Lufthansa subsidiaries, including Eurowings, where the dispute centres on pension arrangements. The airline said Eurowings has managed to maintain more than 70% of its planned flight schedule despite the industrial action.

Efforts to resolve the dispute through arbitration have so far failed. Lufthansa said it had sought a broad mediation process covering all outstanding issues, while the pilots’ union argued that the airline’s conditions made meaningful progress impossible. Both sides have blamed each other for the breakdown in talks.

As strike action continues, Lufthansa has urged passengers to check flight status updates online and warned that further cancellations and delays remain likely in the coming days.

By Aghakazim Guliyev