Flights are grounded in Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf. Several hundred failures are expected. Only Lufthansa subsidiaries AUA and Eurowings depart.
At Lufthansa, a warning strike announced by ground staff began on Wednesday night. A spokesman for Verdi's union confirmed this at Frankfurt Airport in the morning. The center, along with Munich, will be hit hard by the planned 27-hour strike. As a precaution, Lufthansa canceled 80 to 90 percent of about 1,000 flights scheduled for Wednesday. However, AUA's Germany flights are scheduled to resume as scheduled.
In addition to Frankfurt and Munich, Verdi has called for industrial action in Hamburg, Berlin and Düsseldorf by employees of various Lufthansa companies. Flights were canceled from Tuesday evening. According to the company, more than 100,000 passengers had to reschedule. At other airports in Germany, connections to and from Frankfurt and Munich are generally cancelled.
Lufthansa warned passengers of canceled flights not to come to the airport. They could not expect any help there. “Due to the strike, the re-booking counters are unfortunately not staffed,” the airline's website said.
Passengers should inform themselves of the exact departure time
However, passengers from Lufthansa subsidiaries and external airlines are not or rarely affected. For example, direct flight subsidiary Eurowings plans to fly its entire program. At hubs in Munich and Frankfurt, skeleton crews must prioritize flights from foreign Lufthansa sister companies Swiss, Austrian and Brussels Airlines to keep their networks operational. However, AUA recommends its passengers to check their flight status online in time or contact their travel agency.
Strikes in Germany were called for by unions to enforce higher wages and salaries. Strike meetings are planned for Wednesday in Berlin and Frankfurt. The strike ends at 7.10 am on Thursday. Lufthansa expects to resume operations on Thursday with some cancellations and delays. Operations should be completely back to normal by Friday. (APA/DPA)
