Flight attendants at German flag carrier Lufthansa will bring chaos to the airline on Tuesday and Wednesday as they take part in the latest strike action to hit the carrier in just the last few weeks.
The strike action comes just days after the UFO flight attendant union announced that 96% of its members had voted in favour of escalating their pay dispute with the airline.
The strike will take the form of two separate stoppages at Lufthansa’s main hubs at Frankfurt and Munich airports. The first workout will take place at Frankfurt Am Main on Tuesday, 13th March, with flight attendants refusing to report for any flights due to depart between 4 am and 10 pm.
On Wednesday, 14th March, the dispute will move to the Munich Airport, where flight attendants will also stage strike action between 4 am and 10 pm. During both days, protests and rallies will take place in Frankfurt and Munich.
Harry Jaeger, Head of Collective Bargaining Policy and Negotiator of the UFO said the union had given Lufthansa “countless” opportunities to meet its red lines, with the two sides failing to come to an agreement after 15 separate rounds of negotiations.
The union has demanded an immediate pay increase of 15%, whereas Lufthansa is currently only willing to offer a 9.25% rise, which wouldn’t take full effect until August 2025.
“We very much regret this step and sincerely apologize to our guests, to whom we feel committed, for the inconvenience caused,” Jaeger commented as the latest strike action was announced.
“We would like to emphasize once again that we have not taken this path lightly… We ask our passengers for their understanding that we now have to strike for our justified demand,” Jaeger continued.
Lufthansa passengers have faced a highly disruptive wave of strike action in the last few weeks. The walkouts have, until now, only involved ground employees from engineers and baggage handlers to check-in staff and gate agents.
The Verdi United Services trade union called all Lufthansa ground workers to strike last Thursday and Friday in their longest strike to date in the current dispute. Lufthansa was forced to cancel up to 90% of its schedule as a result of that walkout.
In a statement, Lufthansa said it “anticipates significant impacts on the flight schedule” as a result of the flight attendant walkout.
“Customers whose flights are affected by the UFO strike will receive information about cancellations and, of course, rebooking options tomorrow (Sunday) throughout the day via email or through the Lufthansa app,” the statement continued.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this strike call may cause to your travel plans.”
