A wave of flight cancellations hit Lufthansa on Thursday as pilots and cabin crew unions staged a one-day strike at Germany‘s biggest airline.
The industrial action, led by the Vereinigung Cockpit and UFO unions, caused extensive disruption, though Lufthansa did not provide a specific figure for affected services.
The departures board at the airline’s main Frankfurt hub visibly indicated that most morning flights were grounded.
Lufthansa criticised the walkouts as “disproportionate” but expressed confidence in offering a largely normal flight programme by Friday.
The carrier confirmed efforts to rebook passengers onto partner airlines, including Swiss, Austrian Airlines, and Brussels Airlines, all part of the Lufthansa group.
The two unions called for the 24-hour walkouts on Tuesday.
Vereinigung Cockpit called for walkouts on flights departing from Germany in a dispute over the pension system for pilots at the airline and its Lufthansa Cargo unit.
UFO called for members to strike on flights departing Frankfurt and Munich and flights by the Lufthansa Cityline unit in a dispute over its demand for negotiations on various issues.