German labor unions have called for a walkout at seven airports by Lufthansa ground crew on Tuesday after a walkout earlier this month.
Frankfurt and Munich, two of Lufthansa’s main hubs, along with Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne-Bonn, and Stuttgart, will be affected by a one-day strike, according to the Ver. di union’s announcement on Sunday.
The airline canceled flights because of a 27-hour strike on February 7th at five different airports.
The union seeks a 12.5% salary raise, or at least 500 euros ($539 more) per month, for almost 25,000 workers. This includes those in check-in, aircraft handling, maintenance, and freight. German contract discussions sometimes include warning strikes that continue for hours or even days.
During the meetings that took place on February 12, no consensus was achieved.
When unions threaten more widespread strikes if their demands are not met, this tactic is known as an exemplary strike.
There will be no further flights to or from Germany until Wednesday, affecting almost 200,000 people.
Due to the ground crew strike, over 80-90% of Lufthansa’s flights have been canceled.
The strike began at Frankfurt Airport last night. Airports in Stuttgart, Cologne-Bonn, Munich, Berlin, Duesseldorf, and Hamburg were still experiencing the same problem this morning.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7.10 am, services are scheduled to restart, and disruption is anticipated to continue afterward.
According to Lufthansa’s advice, don’t travel to the airport unless you know your flight is still scheduled.
Flights impacted by the strike may be rescheduled via Lufthansa’s website, app, or service centers at no additional cost, according to the airline.
The rebooking counters are reportedly unmanned because of the strike.
After experiencing difficulties in contacting a Lufthansa official for flight information or rebooking, travelers have resorted to X, formerly known as Twitter, to vent their dissatisfaction.
