Lufthansa cancels 1,200 flights due to strikes at Frankfurt, Munich hubs

Deutsche Lufthansa AG will cancel at least 1,200 flights for Friday due to strikes at its main Frankfurt and Munich hubs, the latest disruption to hit Europe’s biggest airline after an IT incident grounded its fleet on Wednesday.
 

Lufthansa will cull the flights due to a one-day walkout from ground crew at its two biggest airports, a spokeswoman said on Thursday. The move is set to complicate travel plans for delegates attending the Munich Security Conference, a major annual event for defense and foreign policymakers.

“The employees are jointly putting pressure on the respective employers because no results have been achieved in the previous negotiations,” Verdi official Christine Behle said in a statement, pointing to the next round of talks on February 22.

The renewed disruption follows the accidental cutting of telecommunications cables on Wednesday that ended up grounding Lufthansa’s fleet for large parts of the day. The strike tomorrow is the latest in a string of walkouts as employees seek better terms because of rising cost-of-living expenses.

Lufthansa customers endured a summer of strikes and delays at Germany’s biggest airports after labor unions pushed for better pay deals. German inflation has soared after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drove gas and other energy prices higher.

The rolling strike disruptions compounded difficult few months for travelers as the resurgence in demand was greater than many airlines and airport operators had anticipated, leading to long lines and misplaced baggage at airports from London Heathrow to Dusseldorf in Germany.