Lufthansa cancels flights at MUC, FRA due to pilot strikes

Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo at Munich (MUC) and Frankfurt (FRA) are canceling flights due to labor strikes from Lufthansa’s pilots. The 24-hour strike — called by the German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) — was set to begin at midnight today through 11:59 p.m., according to Wednesday’s release from Lufthansa. Roughly 894 Lufthansa flights have been canceled so far at FRA and MUC through Sept. 3, according to flight-tracking software. Eurowings and Eurowings Discover flights will not be affected by the strike call and will be operating as normal, according to the release. Meanwhile the impact on cargo “depends on the strike participation of the pilots [on Sept. 2],” a Lufthansa spokesperson told Air Cargo World . [caption id="attachment_99174" align="alignright" width="557"] Terminal 1 A Finger. Photo: FRA[/caption] “According to current planning, a large part of Lufthansa Cargo’s freighter flight schedule can be presented on Friday — either through scheduled departures or the possibility of postponing flights to the following day,” the spokesperson said. “Currently, we have to cancel three rotations. We are not planning to divert shipments to other airports. Shipments booked on canceled freighters or [belly cargo on] passenger flights will be automatically rebooked onto the next available flight.” Lufthansa pilots seek better compensation VC is asking for a 5.5% increase in wages by yearend as well as additional compensation above inflation as of January 2023, according to the release. The union is also seeking a higher base salary and more money for sick days, vacation or training. An initial strike ballot ended July 31 when Lufthansa pilots voted in favor of continuing along the bargaining path, according to VC’s July 31 release. “The pilots’ demands focus on the compensation for the loss of real wages,” VC reported. “Another central point of the demands to the employer is the equalization of the remuneration system in the staff body while at the same time increasing the attractiveness of the lower wage levels.” VC was unavailable for comment ahead of publication. Lufthansa’s offer Lufthansa noted that VC’s demands would increase payroll cost for cockpit personnel by 16% over the proposed two-year period, according to the release. In total, cockpit payroll costs would increase 40% from 2.2 billion euros (US $2.2 billion) over the next two years. Lufthansa Group initially presented VC with an 18-month term offer, where Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo pilots would receive an addition 900 euros in basic pay per month in two stages, which will especially benefit entry-level salaries, the group reported. “An entry-level co-pilot will receive more than 18% additional basic pay over the duration of the agreement, while a captain in the final stage will receive 5% [more],” Lufthansa reported. “As an alternative, VC has been offered the option of allocating all or part of this volume elsewhere, for example, for structural changes such as adjustments to the pay scale.” Lufthansa further reported that VC was offered the possibility to jointly “conclude a new Perspective Agreement, which guarantees cockpit personnel at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo a minimum fleet size.” Lufthansa’s labor woes This is the second time in less than two months that Lufthansa has faced labor disputes at FRA and MUC, leading to major disruptions. In July more than 1,000 Lufthansa-operated passenger flights to and from MUC and FRA were canceled due to labor strikes by Lufthansa’s ground workers. The United Services Union (ver.di) and Lufthansa eventually settled on a bargaining agreement Aug. 4 . “Our willingness to continue negotiating solutions with the pilots’ union VC remains,” Lufthansa’s spokesperson said. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed.” Join Air Cargo World for our next webinar, “Forward Thinking: Best practices for freight forwarder success,” on Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 11 a.m. ET. Click here for more information and to register.

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