Lufthansa Flight Attendants Strike, Affecting 180,000 Passengers and 1,300 Flights
More than 100,000 passengers are going to be affected by 1,300 flight cancellations this week as flight attendants for Lufthansa go on strike for two days. The strike comes as the CEO of the airline tweeted that he is ready to discuss arbitration with the union.
The Independent Flight Attendants Organization (Ufo) called for full-day strikes on Thursday and Friday, impacting about 180,000 passengers and forcing the airline to “activate a special flight plan,” according to Lufthansa. The strike will affect flights to 10 U.S. cities from Munich and the airline’s Frankfurt hub, according to The Points Guy.
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“Lufthansa regrets the inconvenience for the passengers,” the airline said in a statement, adding that all passengers booked on a flight to or from Frankfurt or Munich for Thursday or Friday can rebook once for free “regardless of whether or not their trip will be affected by a cancellation.”
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According to The Points Guy, flights from Frankfurt to Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, and Seattle have been cancelled for both days. Flights from Frankfurt to Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Francisco, and Miami have been cancelled for Thursday, and flights to San Diego have been cancelled for Friday. In addition, flights from Munich to Los Angeles and Miami appear to be cancelled for the duration of the strike, according to the site.
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Tensions between Lufthansa and the union have been high because of a disagreement over the Ufo’s legal status, Reuters reported. The airline has said that the union’s leadership, which took over earlier this year, was not elected in a way that meets legal requirements, a claim that the union has disputed.
Carsten Spohr, the CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said in a statement on Twitter on Thursday morning that he plans to “enter into talks” with the “aim to agree on the arbitration offered by the Ufo yesterday.”
Ufo official Nicoley Baublies told Reuters that the union accepted the offer of weekend talks.
“We will make this attempt,” he said. “We don’t yet know whether it will be successful.”
Passengers booked on a flight with the airline are reminded to check the status of their flight on Lufthansa’s website before they leave for the airport.
