Friday 27 / December / 2024
Germany's flagship carrier Lufthansa announced on Tuesday that it is cancelling almost all flights from its hubs of Frankfurt and Munich due to a scheduled ground staff strike Wednesday.
The carrier also said flights would be cancelled Tuesday as well as later in the week as the ripple effects of the one-day strike are felt.
In total, over 1,000 flights are being scrapped with an estimated 134,000 passengers affected.
What is behind the strike?
The trade union Verdi called for the approximately 20,000 employees that make up Lufthansa's ground staff to strike in an effort to place pressure on management in ongoing salary negotiations.
Michael Niggemann, the chief of human resources at Lufthansa, criticized the move to call a strike, saying it was an "early escalation after only two days of negotiations in what has so far been a constructive collective bargaining round."
He added the strike would affect "especially our passengers during the peak travel season," but added, "it is putting a strain on our employees in an already difficult phase of air traffic."
